PRIME MINISTER

Freedom of Information

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  on what date he issued the direction to set up the Ministerial Committee on Freedom of Information (MISC 28); for what reasons he decided to set up this committee; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the direction setting up this committee;
	(2)  how many times the Ministerial Committee on Freedom of Information (MISC 28) has met since it was set up; on what dates it has met; when it was set up; and whether the committee has discussed the issue of deciding what level of fees should be charged for requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Tony Blair: It is established practice, as reflected in the Ministerial Code and under Exemption 2 of Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, not to disclose information relating to the proceedings of the Cabinet and its committees.
	I announced the establishment of the Ministerial Committee on Freedom of Information (MISC28) to Parliament on Thursday 27 May 2004. The Committee was established to oversee the Government's strategy on Freedom of Information, particularly as Government Departments make final preparations for the full implementation of the Freedom of Information Act in 2005. Details of the membership and terms of reference of the Committee are available in the Libraries of both Houses and on the Cabinet Office website.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Public Records

Lynne Jones: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to his answer of 22 July 2004, Official Report, column 535W, on public records, under what legal provision files that have passed the normal 30 years disclosure period laid down by the Public Record Act 1958 have been either closed or retained; how many of the closed files have been closed to protect personally sensitive information; for what categories of reason the remainder are closed; and what plans there are for the future publication of the retained files.

David Lammy: Records may at present be kept closed to public access longer than 30 years under s5(1) of the Public Records Act or specifically to prevent a breach of good faith under s5(2). S3(4) allows for retention in Departments beyond the 30 year period. In all these cases the approval of the relevant Minister and the Lord Chancellor, who takes account of the views of his Advisory Council on National Records and Archives, is required. Variations of the 30 year closure period are authorised by an Instrument signed by the Lord Chancellor.
	The 1993 Open Government White Paper set out the criteria against which applications for extended closure have been assessed. Since 1993 76.9 per cent. of records which have been closed relate to personally sensitive information. The other criteria for extended closure are described in the White Paper.
	The Open Government White Paper of 1993 requires Departments to review retained records, and to consider whether actual damage would be caused by their release. These arrangements will continue.
	Information on Access to Public Records can be found on the National Archives website at: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/recordsmanagement/advice/schedules.htm

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Metropolitan Police (Artefacts)

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether the closure on 14 July of the warehouse containing the Metropolitan Police Service's collection of artefacts is permanent; and if she will make a statement.

Estelle Morris: This a matter for the Metropolitan Police Authority. I understand that the closure is to allow staff time to carry out work needed to ensure compliance with the Freedom of Information Act when it comes into force on 1 January 2005.
	Conditions at the storage facility in which the collection and archives are held raise health and safety issues for staff and visitors. I understand the Metropolitan Police Service is committed to looking for a more suitable location for the artefacts and is exploring ways in which the collection can be displayed, without placing a burden on police funds.

Shooting

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has held with the London 2012 Olympics bid team on the venue for shooting events.

Tessa Jowell: London 2012 is responsible for selecting the venues for the bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games and announced on 16 January that Bisley would host the shooting events. Following the report from the IOC Working Group on 18 May which highlighted potential problems that may result from the number and geographical spread of venues, London 2012 have been considering alternative sites nearer to the Olympic Zone.
	A firm decision will be made for inclusion in the Candidate File that will be submitted to the IOC on 15 November 2004.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Corporate Plan

Mike Gapes: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission when the Electoral Commission's Corporate Plan for 2004–05 to 2008–09 was approved by the Speaker's Committee.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission's Corporate Plan for 2004–05 to 2008–09 was approved by the Speaker's Committee at its meeting on 14 July. The Plan was laid before the House by the Speaker, on behalf of the Speaker's Committee, on 22 July as House of Commons Paper No. 797, copies of which are now available in the Vote Office. I understand that the Electoral Commission has also sent copies to all Members.

CABINET OFFICE

Absenteeism

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the average number of working days lost per employee through illness was in his Department in each of the last five years; and what targets for days lost were set for each year.

Douglas Alexander: Information on working days lost per employee due to illness in the Cabinet Office is published each year in "Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service". The latest publication covers 2002 and is available in the Library of the House. The figures for 2003 are expected to be published in autumn 2004. Information for the available years requested are set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Working days lost per employee 
		
		
			 1998 6.2 
			 1999 6.8 
			 2000 4.6 
			 2001 5.7 
			 2002 4.8 
		
	
	Cabinet Office targets for reducing levels of sickness absence cover three years as follows:
	
		
			  Target for working days lost per employee 
		
		
			 2001 6.4 days or less 
			 2003 6.1 days or less 
			 2010 5.1 days or less 
		
	
	To further reduce short-term sickness absence, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor announced in the Spending Review an examination of the use of self-certification in the civil service.

Absenteeism

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will withdraw payment for an initial period of absence from working through illness in the Civil Service and public sector; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced during the Spending Review on Monday 12 July 2004 that the Cabinet Secretary and I will consult on, and negotiate changes to the current arrangements for self-certifying absence in the civil service.
	In such circumstances it would not be appropriate for me to pre-empt this exercise by making changes to the way that payment is made for sickness absence.
	Although this review will encompass solely the civil service, it is hoped that any change made to the self-certification system will serve as an example of good practice for the wider public sector.

Civil Contingencies

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on his Department's role in projects to be funded following the announcement relating to civil contingencies in the Spending Review.

Douglas Alexander: The Cabinet Office has lead responsibility within Government for local authorities' civil protection activities. It has secured a doubling of the Government's contribution to the cost of local authorities' civil protection work.
	The wider programme of increased investment in the counter-terrorism and resilience area falls to a range of Government Departments, and will be overseen by the Home Secretary, who has overall responsibility for domestic security and resilience.

Freedom of Information

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what action he is taking in response to the comments made by the Parliamentary Ombudsman regarding delays by his Department in responding to complaints under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information in her review of departmental performance against requirements of the Memorandum of Understanding published on 30 June; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The Government take any delays in responding to complaints under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information seriously.
	The Government regret that delays do unavoidably occur in a minority of complex cases. However, the Ombudsman's review of the first nine months of the Memorandum of Understanding (September 2003 to May 2004) shows that in most cases the requirements of the Memorandum of Understanding were met.
	In all cases, Departments endeavour to ensure that the time limit of three weeks for Departments to respond to a "statement of complaint" from the Ombudsman is met. In accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding, Departments aim to enter into dialogue with the investigating officer should there be any difficulty in replying by the date set by the Ombudsman.

PFI/PPP Contracts

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many contracts the Cabinet Office had with (a) Barclays, (b) the Royal Bank of Scotland, (c) UBS Warburg and (d) the Bank of Scotland for advice on private finance initiative and public private partnership contracts in each financial year since 2001–02; and what fees were paid in each case.

Douglas Alexander: The Department has not entered into any such contracts with any of these companies.

Press Officers

David Cameron: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much was spent by his Office on press officers, broken down by grade, in (a) 1996–97 and (b) the last year for which figures are available.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 19 July 2004
	Financial and human resource information for periods, prior to, and including 1996–97 is not held on the Cabinet Office's current databases. Hence, information for 1996–97 could be provided in the manner requested only at disproportionate cost. However, information about the number of press officers working in Cabinet Office press office during this period is available in Appendix 11 to PASC—Sixth Report.
	Press office provides a service to the Minister for the Cabinet Office; Minister without Portfolio; Leader and Deputy Leader of the Commons; Leader of the Lords; Cabinet Secretary; Security and Intelligence Co-ordinator and the Permanent Secretary Government Communications. It is also responsible for supporting the Managing Director of the Cabinet Office and the Heads of Management Units in the Cabinet Office.
	The last year for which information is available is 2003–04. At January 2004 the Cabinet Office Press Office had the following press officer posts:
	a full-time head of news post—SCSI;
	two full-time chief press officer posts—G7;
	two full-time senior press officer posts—TIS3/SIO;
	a senior press officer—TIS3/SIO who spent 50 per cent. of her time on press office duties;
	three full-time press officers—TIS2/IO and B2.
	Some of these posts remained vacant for a large part of 2003–04. The total salary costs, including employer contributions and overtime, for the above posts in the 2003–04 financial year was £436,433.00. These figures are subject to final audit by the National Audit Office (NAO). In order to protect the privacy of the individuals concerned it would be inappropriate to break down the cost by grade.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Metropolitan Police (Horse Dung)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what the estimated amount in tonnes is of horse excrement deposited by police horses belonging to the London Metropolitan Police on public byways and spaces in London in the last year for which figures are available;
	(2)  what the estimated cost to local authorities was of collecting excrement from police horses belonging to the London Metropolitan Police from public byways and spaces in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by local authority;
	(3)  what (a) tonnage and (b) percentage of excrement produced by horses belonging to the Metropolitan Police was recycled in the form of manure or other compost in the last year for which figures are available;
	(4)  what obligations there are on the Metropolitan Police to clean up excrement left by its horses on public byways and spaces in London.

Alun Michael: There are no figures available for the amount of horse manure excreted by horses belonging to the Metropolitan Police in London, the cost to local authorities for cleaning up horse excrement, nor for the amount of excrement that authorities have collected.
	The Metropolitan Police have no obligation to clear up horse excrement.

Advertising

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent by her Department on (a) advertising and (b) public relations consultants in (i) 1996–97 and (ii) in the latest year for which figures are available.

Alun Michael: The Department does not maintain separate records of its expenditure for advertising and promotional literature. The expenditure for publicity by Defra's Communications Directorate, includes marketing, advertising, publications, events, shows and direct mailings, and is recorded for the financial years since Defra's creation in June 2001 as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 2001–02 6.6 
			 2002–03 4.7 
			 2003–04 2.5 
		
	
	This includes communications on a wide range of matters, much of it necessary or beneficial to the public and the wide range of industries in which Defra has an interest, together with local government, voluntary organisations and other bodies.
	Figures on expenditure on public relations consultants by all sections of Defra are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. There has been no expenditure on public relations consultancy by the Defra's Communications Directorate since the Department was set up. Some firms which include public relations activities among the range of services they provide to clients have been employed by some sections of Defra, but not primarily for that purpose.

Departmental Costs

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost of running the Department's canteen facilities was in (a) 1996–97 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available.

Alun Michael: Defra came into being in June 2001. From information held centrally, the cost of running the Department's canteen facilities in financial year 2001–02 was £398,058 and in financial year 2003–04 the cost was £443,025.

Departmental Costs

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent by her Department on public relations consultants in (a) 1996–97 and (b) in the last year for which figures are available.

Alun Michael: Defra was formed in June 2001. Figures on expenditure on public relations consultants by all sections of Defra are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. There has been no expenditure on public relations consultancy by the Defra's Communications Directorate since the Department was set up. Some firms which include public relations activities among the range of services they provide to clients have been employed by some sections of Defra, but not primarily for that purpose.

Hunting

Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make a statement on the Hunting Bill.

Alun Michael: The Government intends to fulfil its manifesto commitment to enable Parliament to deal with the issue of hunting with dogs.
	Some opponents of hunting want this issue to be dealt with as a matter of great urgency, while supporters of hunting want nothing to change and many other people regard it as being less important than many other policies.
	The Government has made it clear that the issue does not have as high a priority as issues like jobs and schools and hospitals and transport, to name a few. But it is an issue that has absorbed an enormous amount of valuable Parliamentary time, over several years, and before the last election we acknowledged that it was time to enable Parliament to reach a conclusion.
	The Government has made efforts to find a constructive way forward, based on the evidence, through the Burns Committee Report and my own work which culminated in public hearings in Portcullis House in 2002. The proposals put to the House last year would have banned hunting except where a particular activity could be proved—to the satisfaction of an independent tribunal—to be necessary for pest control and to involve less suffering than available alternatives. The House decided by a substantial majority on a free vote to go further and require a complete ban apart from a few very restricted statutory exceptions.
	The Other Place then considered the Bill but failed to return it to this House before the end of the Session last November. That was disappointing and the only way the Government can be sure to fulfil its manifesto commitment is now to reintroduce the Bill in the form it left this House last year. I am therefore giving notice of the Bill's re-introduction in this House.
	It will be a matter for this House to decide, but the Government believes that the provisions of the Parliament Acts will be available if an unaltered Bill is sent to the Other Place.
	In addition to the Bill, I shall ask the House to agree a motion to commence the Bill's provisions in relation to hunting, but not hare-coursing events, two years after its enactment. Special procedures exist under the Parliament Act 1911 for changes to be made if agreed to by both Houses. This period will give those involved in hunting more than adequate time to cease the activities which are to be banned, for humane arrangements like the dispersal or re-homing of dogs, and for re-focusing any business activities on alternatives like drag-hunting or disposal of fallen stock if they wish to do so.
	These welfare considerations do not apply to hare coursing events. Violence and intimidation associated with illegal coursing events is a real and pressing problem in many areas of the countryside today. We have received many representations asking us to take firm and speedy action to enable the police to tackle these associated evils. That can only be done if the nature of the relevant offences is changed from that of trespassing to the activity of hare-coursing itself, which is a clear provision of the Bill. There can be no justification for delaying further in giving the police the powers they need to crack down on the criminals involved. So the offences in the Bill banning hare-coursing events should continue to come into force three months after the Bill is passed.
	The Government has condemned threats of illegal action by some supporters of hunting and believes that most people involved are law-abiding people who are prepared to respect the will of Parliament. Extra time for implementation will make it even clearer that illegal actions and threats or intimidation are totally unjustified. If people wish to continue their opposition to legislation, they have the option of the ballot box through which to express their views.
	Animal welfare is also a major consideration for the Government—in terms of dogs and horses as well as the wild animals which are hunted. Dogs used for hunting are normally shot when they are no longer needed but the extra time for implementation will mean that there is even less reason for any suffering to be caused to them because of the ban. The RSPCA has offered to help with re-homing hounds—an offer for which I am very grateful—based on its experience of re-homing a considerable number of greyhounds each year. Drag-hunting offers alternative activities for those who have to give up hunting. And the horse industry in this country is buoyant, with increasing activity in a variety of leisure and sporting activities.
	As has consistently been the case, right hon. and hon. Members on this side of the House will have a free vote on the Hunting Bill. That free vote will apply to Ministers and Whips as well as to back-benchers. While this legislation is not a Government priority, it is an issue on which hon. Members have expressed strong and consistent views over many years.
	My right hon. Friend the Leader of the House will address the handling of the Bill in the Business Statement.

Marine Protection

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research has been carried out on the cost of creating a series of marine parks around Great Britain.

Ben Bradshaw: A meaningful assessment of the cost of creating a series of marine parks would depend on a variety of factors, including the number, scale and purpose of such areas, as well as the nature of any management, enforcement and monitoring.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Intellectual Property Rights

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many and what type of intellectual property rights are owned by the Government.

Adam Ingram: I have been asked to reply.
	Intellectual property rights in the UK comprise:
	statutory rights which are registered and granted through the Patent Office, comprising patents, registered trade marks, registered designs, plant breeders rights;
	statutory, but unregistered rights, such as copyright and unregistered design rights.
	In addition common law rights such as those relating to confidential information, trade secrets, and unregistered trademarks, and passing-off are often included within the wider definition of intellectual property.
	Government Departments currently hold just over 1,200 live patents, 600 live trademarks and 20 live registered designs around the world. There is no record of any plant breeders rights.
	The number of patents held has reduced considerably in recent times as a result of the establishment of QinetiQ Ltd. as a separate company. A substantial part of the Ministry of Defence's patent portfolio was vested in QinetiQ at its foundation.
	The figures given above exclude patents held by various national health bodies.
	No central records are held for copyright or unregistered designs, nor of common law rights. But all works (including computer software) made by Government servants are Crown Copyright, and the number of copyright materials held by Government Departments is, in consequence, immense.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Equatorial Guinea

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  if he will list the projects (a) initiated, (b) funded (i) partially and (ii) fully and (c) run by his Department since 1997 in Equatorial Guinea; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how much (a) monetary aid and (b) aid in kind his Department has (i) pledged and (ii) delivered to Equatorial Guinea per annum since 1998; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID does not have a significant bilateral programme partnership with Equatorial Guinea, but does provide a Small Grants Scheme (SGS) fund co-ordinated at the British High Commission in Yaounde, Cameroon. This fund supports non-governmental and civil society organisation projects which are in line with DFID's development objectives.
	The Small Grants Scheme has funded eight such projects in Equatorial Guinea since 1997, with a combined value of £53,372. Two projects supported community health centres; four projects provided water and sanitation and one assisted livelihoods work in palm oil production. The SGS also supported the studies of two students from Equatorial Guinea.
	Of the official development assistance given to Equatorial Guinea through the European Community, the UK's share was £0.2 million in 1998, £0.1 million in 1999, £0.3 million in 2000, and £0.3 million in 2001. Figures for 2003–04 are currently unavailable.

Equatorial Guinea

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the economic and political developments in Equatorial Guinea since 1998; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID has no significant development partnership with Equatorial Guinea and so makes no formal assessment of economic and political developments. However, DFID does support the EU Declaration of 17 June which states that the Government of Equatorial Guinea must adhere to democratic principles in an internationally accepted manner. HM Government continues to monitor the situation.

Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action he is taking to ensure that the Government fulfils the commitments it made in the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: A fundamental aim of the International Plan of Action is the eradication of poverty. DFID's aim is also the elimination of poverty in poorer countries. A key objective of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing is to ensure that issues relating to ageing are taken into account at all stages in both international and national development plans and policies. DFID's policy is to support developing countries' own development agendas, known as Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRSs). DFID seeks to ensure that groups representing the interests of older people are included in PRS consultations.
	Older people are often among the poorest. The problems they face are therefore included in the policy analyses currently being carried out by DFID on chronic poverty and on social exclusion. DFID has also recently funded research at the Centre for Chronic Poverty and Development Policy at Manchester, in partnership with Help Age International, into older people living in poverty; at the University of Wales into migration of older people from South Asia and at Manchester University into non-contributory pensions and poverty prevention.
	The Action Plan advocates the active participation of older people in society and development. DFID's approach recognises the human rights of poor people, including older people and seeks to ensure that they are consulted on policies and decisions that affect them. This increases understanding of how they perceive their rights and of the obstacles they face in obtaining their entitlements.
	Examples of projects funded by DFID country programmes include support for the development of services for older people in the Kemerovo region of Russia and projects in the Overseas Territories of Montserrat and St. Helena to provide sheltered housing and other support for elderly people to live in the community.
	DFID also has a Programme Partnership Agreement with Help Age International (HAI), under which we are providing funding of £2.46 million to HAI over three years. The purpose is to influence the development of policies and practices that promote rights and opportunities for older people and to maximise their contribution to society. HAI's work includes support for setting up effective groups of older citizens in developing countries; strengthening them to monitor how their governments carry out their commitments to reduce the poverty of older people, including the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing; encouraging dialogue between governments, civil society and older people to ensure that effective policies and programmes are developed to reduce poverty among older people; disseminating information about ageing; raising awareness of the impact of HIV/AIDS on older people and supporting work to inform older people of their rights.

TRANSPORT

A40/M40

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance he has given to the Highways Agency on how to take account, in framing the A40/M40 management strategy, of (a) the environmental impact of the motorway on people living in South Buckinghamshire and (b) Wycombe district council's air quality management strategy.

David Jamieson: The Highways Agency follows a consistent approach for all route management strategies whereby the problems and issues of a route are grouped under five main categories, one of which is environment. Issues such as noise and air quality are considered within this category.
	Wycombe district council's air quality management area is recorded in the M40/A40 draft route management strategy. Wycombe's air quality action plan includes a number of measures to improve air quality, two of which directly involve the Highways Agency. Layout changes to the Handy Cross junction are already in the targeted programme of improvements for the agency and the draft route management strategy contains possible options to reduce future traffic volumes on the M40.

A40/M40

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of people who live up to (a) 50 metres, (b) 100 metres, (c) 250 metres and (d) 500 metres from the M40 between junctions 3 and 6.

David Jamieson: The Highways Agency do not hold figures for the number of people who live within 50, 100, 250 and 500 metres of the M40 between junctions 3 and 6.

A40/M40

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the accident rate per number of vehicles on the M40 between (a) junctions 3 and 4, (b) junctions 4 and 5 and (c) junctions 5 and 6.

David Jamieson: The Highways Agency publishes accident rates per million vehicle kilometres travelled. On this basis the accident rates for the three sections of the M40 are as follows:
	
		
			  Accident rate 
		
		
			 (a) Junctions 3 to 4 0.129 
			 (b) Junction 4 to 5 0.047 
			 (c) Junctions to 6 0.125 
		
	
	These rates have been calculated using accident data for the last five years.

A40/M40

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents there have been in each of the last five years on the M40 between (a) junctions 3 and 4, (b) junctions 4 and 5 and (c) junctions 5 and 6.

David Jamieson: For each of the last five years, the following injury accidents have been recorded on the M40.
	
		
			  1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Junction 3 to 4  
			 Fatal 3 0 0 0 0 
			 Serious 7 5 7 3 6 
			 Slight 21 17 25 21 19 
			 Junction 4 to 5  
			 Fatal 0 2 0 1 0 
			 Serious 4 2 3 1 4 
			 Slight 17 15 21 20 10 
			 Junction 5 to 6  
			 Fatal 0 1 0 0 0 
			 Serious 3 2 2 3 2 
			 Slight 11 17 10 17 16

A40/M40

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his latest estimate is of the average daily flow of traffic on the M40 between junctions 3 and 6.

David Jamieson: The latest annual average daily traffic flows for each section of the M40 motorway between junctions 3 and 6 were collected in 2003 and are shown in the following the table:
	
		
			 Motorway section Combined Northbound and Southbound traffic flows (vehicles) 
		
		
			 Junctions 3 to 4 101,812 
			 Junctions 4 to 5 93,036 
			 Junctions 5 to 6 92,923

A40/M40

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions in each of the last five years traffic has been diverted off the M40 at Junction 5 or 6 to travel along the A40 through Stokenchurch.

David Jamieson: For the five-year period in question, no formal diversions have been implemented by the Highways Agency that required traffic to be diverted off the M40 at Junction 5 or 6 to travel along the A40 through Stokenchurch.

A65

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funds he has (a) been asked for and (b) agreed to provide for the A65 bus lane scheme.

Kim Howells: Leeds city council initially asked for £20 million for this scheme, and my Department provisionally accepted it for funding at this cost in December 2001. Subsequently, a revised scheme costing £29 million, along with a lower cost alternative for £21 million, has been submitted which is currently being considered by my Department.

Designated Accommodation

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many rooms are set aside for (a) the use of smokers, (b) worship, broken down by religion and (c) nursing mothers and pregnant women in each building and set of offices for which his Department is responsible.

Tony McNulty: DfT central has a significant presence in nine buildings shown in the following table, which also shows the number of rooms available for smokers, prayer (non-denominational) or for the use of nursing mothers or pregnant women.
	
		
			 Building Smoking room Prayer room Nursing mothers 
		
		
			 Great Minster House, London 1 1 1 
			 Southside, London 0 0 1 (first aid room) 
			 MAVIS Crowthorne 0 0 1 (first aid room) 
			 Ashdown House Hastings(1) 3 1 1 (first aid room) 
			 Air Accidents Investigation Branch, Farnborough 1 0 0 
			 Marine Accident Investigation Branch, Southampton 0 0 0 
			 Temple Quay, Bristol(1) 1 0 1 (first aid room) 
			 Ashdown House Victoria, London 1 1 1 
			 Portland House, London(1) 0 1 1 
		
	
	(1) Facilities shared with other Government Departments (OGDs)

Highways Agency

Joyce Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the budget of the Highways Agency in the North East of England was in each of the last three years.

Kim Howells: The budget of the Highways Agency in the North East of England in the last three years was £49.133 million for 2002–03, £52.323 million for 2003–04 and £49.588 million in 2004–05.

London Gateway Port Harbour Empowerment Order

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will delay his decision on the London Gateway Port Harbour Empowerment Order until he is satisfied that a reasonable compensation package has been offered to local fishermen; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The inspector's report of the Public Inquiry held into the London Gateway proposals is with this Department for consideration as part of the statutory process. I understand that fisheries issues were raised at the inquiry and the Secretary of State will of course take into account all relevant considerations in reaching his decision.

Rail Services (London)

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport over what length beyond the boundaries of the current Greater London Authority area he expects the Mayor of London to have jurisdiction for the railways.

Alistair Darling: "The Future of Rail" White Paper said that we will look at whether it is feasible to give the Mayor the right to specify and pay for services that provide additional capacity in London, and acknowledges that some of these services start or end their journeys outside London. However, the White Paper also made it clear that it would be essential to ensure that the rights and interests of rail passengers outside of London are protected, and will consult fully with the GLA and neighbouring regional and local bodies before reaching a conclusion on this proposal.

Road Maintenance/Schemes

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road maintenance schemes requiring completion are outstanding; and when he expects they will be completed.

Alistair Darling: Road maintenance is an ongoing activity for highway authorities, with new schemes starting or completing on time. The Department does not keep central records of what works are planned or are in progress other than for the Highways Agency. Other maintenance is a matter for individual highway authorities.

Road Maintenance/Schemes

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the eight major schemes listed in the Highways Agency's business plan for 2004–05 scheduled to start in this financial year will proceed according to timetable following publication of The Future of Transport.

David Jamieson: Five of the schemes listed in the Highways Agency's business plan—A14 Rookery Crossroads grade separated junction, A249 Iwade-Queenborough Improvement, A47 Thorney Bypass, A5 Weeford-Fazeley Improvement and A63 Melton Grade Separated Junction—have already been given approval to start works in the current financial year. Decisions on the other three schemes will be taken shortly.

Road Safety

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the use of speed limiters in lorries has been assessed to determine efficiency in preventing traffic accidents.

David Jamieson: The accident involvement rate on motorways (per hundred million vehicle kms) fell from 6.4 for all HGVs in 1991 (before the mandatory fitting of speed limiters was introduced) to 4.3 in 2002—which is a 34 per cent. decrease. This is significant, particularly as traffic volume increased by 33 per cent. over the same period.
	The above figures include accidents involving currently non-speed limited HGVs between 3.5 and 7.5 tonnes. However, the reduction in accidents for exclusively speed limited vehicles may be even more significant. Almost all articulated HGVs are speed limited and the accident involvement rate for that class of vehicle fell from 6.7 in 1991 to 3.9 in 2002—a 42 per cent. decrease.
	Other contributing factors may also have influenced that decline but speed limiters have clearly played a part.

Road Safety

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many lorries are fitted with speed limiters.

David Jamieson: All goods vehicles over 7.5 tonnes are required to have speed limiters fitted. As at 31 December 2003 there were 276,000 such vehicles licensed.

Road Safety

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents involving lorries occurred during overtaking manoeuvres in each of the last 10 years; and how many of these involved lorries fitted with speed limiters.

David Jamieson: The number of accidents occurring during overtaking manoeuvres involving HGVs on motorways for the last 10 years is set out as follows:
	
		Accidents
		
			  Fatal Serious Slight All 
		
		
			 1994 6 34 236 276 
			 1995 9 25 214 248 
			 1996 7 38 233 278 
			 1997 7 37 255 299 
			 1998 9 29 259 297 
			 1999 7 40 280 327 
			 2000 11 38 338 387 
			 2001 7 28 291 326 
			 2002 5 35 298 338 
			 2003 8 42 305 355 
		
	
	Although it has been a requirement to fit speed limiters to vehicles over 7.5 tonnes since 1992, we have only been recording HGVs over 7.5 tonnes on our database as a separate category of vehicles since 1999. All of the accidents from 1999 onwards quoted above involved HGVs fitted with a speed limiter.
	The rise in the number of accidents involving HGVs can largely be attributed to the increase in traffic—indeed, the number of accidents involving all categories of vehicle has increased over the last 10 years. However, the accident rate per vehicle kilometres has changed little during the same time period and, in the case of HGVs, the accident rate per vehicle kilometres has actually fallen quite substantially since the introduction of speed limiters (a decrease of 34 per cent. between 1991 and 2002).

Road Safety

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people are employed by the Humberside Safety Camera Partnership.

David Jamieson: The Humberside Safety Camera Partnership employs a complement of 49.6 full time equivalent posts. Eight of these posts are filled by police officers, the rest civilians.

Road Safety

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he proposes to take to raise public awareness of the guidelines that are in place for Safety Camera Partnerships.

David Jamieson: The Department for Transport website contains information on the rules of the safety camera programme on the deployment, signing and visibility of safety cameras, as does the website of the National Safety Camera Liaison, which provides information on Safety Camera Partnerships' activities. The Handbook of Rules and Guidelines for the next year's operation of the programme is currently being prepared. When it is issued, we will publicise it, and make it available through the Department's website.

Road Safety

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he intends to implement to make Safety Camera Partnerships more responsive to complaints received from members of the public.

David Jamieson: Members of the public who have a complaint about an alleged offence caught on a safety camera can challenge it in a Magistrates Court. Partnerships are made up of police, local and magistrates courts authorities, each of which will have a complaint procedure. Partnerships consider, investigate and respond to complaints in line with those. Partnerships also provide extensive information on their activities, including information on camera sites, through their websites and local media.

Transport Funding (Warrington)

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much Government funding has been allocated for transport improvements in Warrington in each of the past five years.

Tony McNulty: pursuant to my reply, 12 August 2004, Official Report, c. 699W
	Funding for transport improvements allocated to Warrington in the last five years is as follows.
	
		£ million
		
			  Improvement Maintenance 
		
		
			 2004–05 3.0 2.9 
			 2003–04 2.2 2.8 
			 2002–03 2.2 2.5 
			 2001–02 2.0 2.4 
			 2000–01 2.0 2.4

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Domestic Violence

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 23 June 2004, Official Report, column 1461W, on domestic violence, if he will list the radio stations, women's press and supermarkets where the helpline was advertised; and if he will list the sites of the washroom posters.

Phil Hope: The following list contains the radio stations, women's press and supermarkets where the helpline was advertised. A separate list of the washroom sites has been made available in the Library of the House.
	Radio:
	95.8 Capital FM (London)
	105.4 Leicester Sound FM
	Magic 105.4 FM (London)
	103.2 Power FM (Portsmouth/Southampton)
	96.4 FM BRMB (Birmingham)
	Century 100–102 (North East)
	100.7 Heart FM (W. Mids)
	Vibe 101 (Severn Estuary)
	Galaxy 102 (Manchester)
	Galaxy 102.2 (Birmingham)
	Heart 106.2 FM (London)
	Galaxy 105 (Yorkshire)
	106 Century FM (E. Mids)
	Vibe FM (East Anglia)
	105.4 Century FM (North West)
	Galaxy 105–106 (North East)
	Southern FM (Brighton/East Sussex)
	Total East Anglian Radio
	Total Beacon Radio (Wolverhampton)
	96 Trent FM/Classic Gold Gem (Notts)
	RAM FM/Classic Gold Gem (Derby)
	Mercia FM/Classic Gold 1359 (Coventry)
	GWR FM/Classic Gold (Brunei) (Bristol, Bath, Swindon)
	Essex FM
	Metro Radio/Magic 1152 (Newcastle)
	TFM/Magic 1170 (Middlesbrough)
	Key 103/Magic 1152 (Manchester)
	Radio City 96.7/Magic 1548 (Liverpool)
	97.4 Rock FM/Magic 999 (Preston)
	96.3 Radio Aire/Magic 828 (Leeds)
	Hallam FM/Magic AM (Sheffield)
	96.9 Viking FM/Magic 1161 (Hull)
	Women's press:
	Cosmopolitan
	Family Circle
	She
	More
	Bella
	Best
	Chat
	Closer
	Heat
	Hello
	Now
	OK
	Real
	Take a Break
	That's Life
	Woman
	Woman's Own
	Mail on Sunday—You magazine
	M Celebs—Sunday Mirror Supplement
	Supermarkets:
	Sainsbury's
	Budgens
	Spa
	Nisa
	Lidl
	Wilkinson and Superdrug.

Fraud/Theft

Damian Green: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the cost of fraud to Government Offices of the Regions in each of the last five years.

Phil Hope: The cost of fraud to Government Offices for the Regions in the last five years has been £4,618.73.

Fraud/Theft

Damian Green: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the equivalent monetary cost of theft to the Government Office of the Regions has been in each year since 1997.

Phil Hope: The equivalent monetary cost of theft from the Government Offices since 1997 is tabled as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1997–98 9,400 
			 1998–99 0 
			 1999–2000 653 
			 2000–01 4,137 
			 2001–02 30,000 
			 2002–03 4,000 
			 2003–04 8,500 
			 2004 to date 9,550 
			 Total (since 1997) 66,240

Homelessness

David Ruffley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many households were living in temporary accommodation in the Bury St. Edmunds constituency in each year since 1997; and how many of those households included dependent children.

Phil Hope: Information is not collected at constituency level, only at local authority level. A summary of information reported by St. Edmundsbury district council about the number of homeless households in temporary accommodation as at 31 March of each year since 1997 is tabled as follows. The number of households in temporary accommodation containing dependent children or expectant mothers has only been collected since March 2002.
	
		Households in temporary accommodation(2) arranged bySt. Edmundsbury district council, as at 31 March
		
			  Total households Of which: with dependent children(3) 
		
		
			 1997 29 n/a 
			 1998 26 n/a 
			 1999 28 n/a 
			 2000 31 n/a 
			 2001 36 n/a 
			 2002 22 not reported 
			 2003 16 13 
			 2004 36 28 
		
	
	(2) Households in temporary accommodation arranged by the local authority pending inquiries, or after being accepted, under homelessness legislation.
	(3) Includes an expectant mother. Data only collected since March 2002.
	Source:
	ODPM PIE homelessness returns (quarterly).

Neighbourhood Schemes (Newcastle upon Tyne)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what (a) street warden, (b) neighbourhood warden and (c) neighbourhood management schemes he has approved in the City of Newcastle upon Tyne; what the value of each was; what schemes have been rejected; and which schemes have been bid for but not yet determined.

Phil Hope: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister funds one street warden scheme operating in the Byker Ward of Newcastle upon Tyne. The scheme has received £300,000 in ODPM funding, which started in 2001 and will end on 31 March 2005. There are no neighbourhood warden or neighbourhood management pathfinder schemes operating in Newcastle upon Tyne which are funded by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. No other schemes were rejected or bid for but not yet determined.

Power Lines (Residential Properties)

Greg Knight: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance he has issued concerning the building of residential properties under or near power lines.

Keith Hill: The Government have not issued guidance concerning the building of residential properties near power lines.
	However, following the publication of the National Radiological Protection Board's (NRPB) new Electromagnetic Field (EMF) guidelines in March 2004 and the associated advice to Government, the Government are committed to taking forward the issue of building near power lines in consultation with all the relevant stakeholder groups.

Safer and Stronger Communities Fund

John Battle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will outline his plans for a safer and stronger communities fund referred to in paragraph 5.32 of the 2004 Spending Review; whether it will cover Leeds, West; where it will be piloted; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The Safer and Stronger Communities Fund announced in the Spending Review 2004 will be put in place across England from April 2005. The fund will address the issues of high crime levels, anti-social behaviour and disorder and the frequent poor quality of public spaces, particularly in deprived areas.
	Guidance on how the fund will operate in practice will be issued later in the year. The administration of the fund will enhance local flexibility and help to reduce bureaucracy through the development of agreements based on the principles for the wider Local Area Agreements, which the Government will also be piloting next year.

Supporting People Programme

John Battle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what representations he has had from (a) local authorities, (b) caring organisations and (c) people with learning disabilities regarding the review of the Supporting People programme; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister receives representations about the Supporting People programme from a wide variety of stakeholders, including local authorities, MPs, provider organisations and people who receive housing related support, including those with learning disabilities. These representations cover a broad range of issues around the Supporting People programme, from invites to conferences to questions about the current and future workings of the programme following the Independent Review of the programme.
	The Independent Review was commissioned by the Government to look at value for money and the variation in dwelling costs and services across local authorities. The Review found wide variations in dwelling costs between authorities and that £1.8 billion is too much to pay for the legacy services. Following this report, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister undertook a comprehensive programme of work on Supporting People programme to inform the Spending Review 2004. On this basis it was recently announced that the settlement for Supporting People is £1.72 billion in 2005–06 and around £1.7 billion in each of the following two years. This is the first time that there has been a three-year settlement in the Supporting People programme. It will create stability for the programme and offer Administering Authorities and providers the opportunity to plan strategically and deliver good quality, value for money services over the next three years and beyond.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Afghan Hijackers

Mark Prisk: To ask the Solicitor-General what estimate he has made of the legal costs of the case concerning Afghan hijackers at Stansted airport since 2000.

Harriet Harman: There have been both criminal proceedings and asylum proceedings arising from the hijack at Stansted airport. In relation to the two criminal trials relating to this matter the costs to the Crown Prosecution Service of Counsel's fees was £428,811.85. This does not include certain costs incurred, such as interpreters fees, as well as fixed costs of the C PS, such as staff. The cost to the Criminal Defence Service of these trials as at 21 July 2004 was £4.32 million.
	In relation to the asylum applications following the Stansted hijack, litigation services in relation to such claims are provided to the Home Secretary by the Treasury Solicitors Department. Their costs in relation to claims arising from the hijack are £106,109.41 as at 31 August 2004.
	The Legal Services Commission is unable to give a figure for the legal aid costs relating to these asylum claims. This is for two reasons. First, some of the legal aid paid in respect of these claims was covered by the controlled work contract where funding decisions are delegated to suppliers. Under those arrangements the Legal Services Commission does not maintain details about the legal aid funding of specific cases. Secondly, in respect of the legal aid funding not covered by the controlled work contracts, while in principle the Legal Services Commission will be in a position to state the legal aid costs, they are not in a position to provide final figures at this stage as they are still waiting for the individual solicitors to submit bills to them. Services Commission will be in a position to state the legal aid costs, they are not in a position to provide final figures at this stage as they are still waiting for the individual solicitors to submit bills to them.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Buildings

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the total floor space area of buildings owned or leased by his Department was in each year from 1997 to date.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. The Office does not own any buildings. The total floor space area of buildings leased from 1 July 1999 to January 2004 was 3,653m 2 .
	In January 2004, the Scotland Office gave up accommodation in Glasgow which reduced the total floor space area to 2,850m 2 .

Sustainable Development

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what parts of his Department's estate will not be covered by the commitments set out in the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office, in common with every part of the Government, is covered by all the commitments set out in the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate.

Sustainable Development

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps have been taken by his Department since publication of the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate to review arrangements for public reporting of sustainable development impacts.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office is working to ensure that its sustainable development impacts will be reported to the Department for Constitutional Affairs, which is committed to the public reporting of such impacts across its estate.

Sustainable Development

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what arrangements his Department has to report publicly on its key sustainable development impacts.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office will report its sustainable development impacts to the Department for Constitutional Affairs, which is committed to the public reporting of such impacts across its estate.

Sustainable Development

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what have been identified as the most significant sustainable development impacts in relation to the operation of his Department's estate.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Constitutional Affairs is currently reviewing sustainable development impacts across the whole of its estate, including the buildings occupied by the Scotland Office.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Autistic People

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provisions are in place to increase awareness in the criminal justice system of the behaviour patterns of people who have communication-related disabilities, including autism and Asperger's Syndrome, in relation to policy on bringing charges for communication-related offences, with particular reference to (a) section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 and (b) the offence of being drunk and disorderly.

Hazel Blears: As regards the police, national training highlights the importance of communicating effectively and sensitively with people suffering from a mental disability (including autism).
	The aim is to ensure that officers develop awareness and an understanding of mental disorders and the importance of not making assumptions based on a person's behaviour.
	In West Mercia, I understand that training has been provided to key staff on Autism and Asperger's Syndrome Disorders (ASD), by Autism West Midlands. This covers strategies for working effectively with people suffering from ASD, paying particular attention to the implications for policing.
	The Codes of Practice under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) provide guidance for custody officers on dealings with mentally vulnerable detainees and, other than in exceptional circumstances, an appropriate adult (someone experienced in dealing with mentally disordered or mentally vulnerable people) must be called whenever there is any doubt about a detainee's mental capacity
	If there is any concern that a person may be suffering from an underlying physical or mental illness, the police should act urgently in calling an appropriate health care professional for advice.
	As for decisions whether or not to bring charges, I understand that the Code for Crown Prosecutors specifically lists the desirability of diverting a defendant who is suffering from significant mental or physical ill health among the relevant considerations. However, this has to be balanced against the need to safeguard the general public. Each case has to be reviewed on its own facts by the Prosecutor applying the general principles laid down in the Code.
	In relation to offences under Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986, Home Office Circular 17/2004 provides guidance to Chief Officers to inform local protocols between the police and health services on dealings with people who may have mental health problems, including learning disabilities.

Community Support Officers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of community support officers recruited are (a) men and (b) women.

Hazel Blears: In the most recent official figures published in September 2003, 64 per cent. of Community Support Officers (CSOs) were male and 36 per cent. female.

Community Support Officers

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many community support officers are assigned, on average, to each police officer in (a) London and (b) England and Wales.

Hazel Blears: Information about the numbers of Community Support Officers (CSOs) assigned to individual police officers is not held centrally. However, the most recent figures on police numbers released in May 2004 are (a) 30,619 police officers in the Metropolitan Police Service (MRS) and City of London forces and (b) 139,631 police officers in England and Wales. In the most recent figures released at the end of July 2004 there were (a) 1,791 CSOs in the MRS and (b) 3,943 CSOs in England and Wales.

Domestic Violence

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans there are to raise public awareness of female-on-male domestic violence.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 19 July 2004
	The 2001 British Crime Survey's Inter-Personal Violence Module shows that one in four women and one in six men have suffered domestic violence at some point in their lives, though women form the overwhelming majority of those subject to the heaviest abuse in terms of frequency, range of violence and severity of injury. The Home Office information leaflet "You don't have to live in fear of domestic violence" recognises that men can be victims of domestic violence and includes the 'Male Advice Line and Enquiry' run by Devon MALE. Devon MALE is a confidential service which specialises in domestic violence, offering advice and information, safety advice and emotional support via their adviceline. They also have a male outreach worker working in the Devon area.

Drugs Workers

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he permits the inclusion in contracts for providers of drugs services in England and Wales of provisions to exclude a specified drugs worker from the provider's premises.

Melanie Johnson: I have been asked to reply.
	Individual contracts for providers of drug services are a matter for negotiation between local commissioners and providers.

Essex Police

Ivan Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to increase the number of community support officers in Essex.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 7 September 2004
	Home Office officials wrote to all chief officers on 20 August inviting bids for a share of the £50 million which was announced in the Home Office Strategic Plan to kick-start the Neighbourhood Policing Fund. This will allow police forces to recruit additional Community Support Officers (CSOs) in this financial year and we expect that 5,500 will be in place by the end of March 2005. It will be for the chief constable of Essex and his police authority to decide how many extra CSOs they wish to bid for.
	The Government have set a target of 20,000 additional CSOs by the end of 2007–08 and further details of how we plan to achieve this will be published in time for the 2006–07 planning round.

Hate Crime

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reported incidents of race hate crimes there have been in (a) St. Helens and (b) England and Wales, broken down by region in each year since 1997; and what percentage (i) were brought to court and (ii) resulted in a successful prosecution in each case.

Hazel Blears: The available information relates to the number of racist incidents in each police force area in England and Wales from 1996–97 to 2002–03. This information is contained in Table 3.1 of the Section 95 publication "Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System—2003", a copy of which is available in the Library and also on the Home Office website. Table 3.2 of the same publication gives the number of racially or religiously aggravated offences recorded by the police by police force area for 2001–02 and 2002–03. Figures for earlier years are available in earlier versions of the Section 95 publication and on the website. Information on racist incidents is not available centrally for St. Helens.
	With regard to court proceedings, the available information relates to the number of defendants proceeded against for racially aggravated offences and is given in the table. The available data is from 1997 to 2002.
	
		Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for racially aggravated offences—England and Wales 1997 to 2002(4)
		
			  1997 1998(5) 1999 
			 Court/region Proceeded against Found guilty Proceeded against Found guilty Proceeded against Found guilty 
		
		
			 Magistrates court   
			 St. Helens(6) (7)— (7)— — — 9 3 
			 Region   
			 East (7)— (7)— 2 — 230 89 
			 East Midlands (7)— (7)— 4 1 352 123 
			 London (7)— (7)— 44 14 1,523 431 
			 North East (7)— (7)— 1 1 109 34 
			 North West (7)— (7)— 15 3 451 161 
			 South East (7)— (7)— 2 1 248 87 
			 South West (7)— (7)— 1 — 153 54 
			 West Midlands (7)— (7)— 4 2 248 74 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber (7)— (7)— 2 1 229 76 
			 Welsh (7)— (7)— 8 4 272 95 
			 England and Wales (7)— (7)— 83 27 3,815 1,224 
		
	
	
		
			  2000 2001 2002 
			 Court/region Proceeded against Found guilty Proceeded against Found guilty Proceeded against Found guilty 
		
		
			 Magistrates court   
			 St. Helens(6) 16 3 9 3 7 3 
			 Region   
			 East 408 153 567 170 542 200 
			 East Midlands 621 289 621 307 692 297 
			 London 2,073 686 1,657 557 1,684 611 
			 North East 196 78 325 137 419 167 
			 North West 919 354 1,424 532 1,323 527 
			 South East 558 225 602 261 603 260 
			 South West 402 137 454 170 442 195 
			 West Midlands 954 356 1,444 504 1,392 527 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 456 168 654 237 633 269 
			 Welsh 470 170 540 207 424 187 
			 England and Wales 7,057 2,616 8,288 3,082 8,154 3,243 
		
	
	(4) These data are on the all offence basis.
	(5) The Crime and Disorder Act 1988 introduced a series of new racially aggravated offences from 30 September 1988.
	(6) Found guilty includes those offenders found guilty at St. Helens magistrates court and the Crown Court where St. Helens was the committing court.
	(7) Not applicable.

Passport Checks

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long a wait for passengers to pass through passport checks at London Heathrow he determines as being compatible with the service standards of the Issuing Section Service.

Des Browne: I am not familiar with the Issuing Section Service to which the right hon. Member refers. However the UK Immigration Service is committed to clearing bona fide passengers with minimal delay, and has set standards for passenger processing times, which comply with the international standards. These standards, which are embedded in the UK Immigration Service's annual business objectives and are kept under regular review, are to clear:
	100 per cent. of non-EEA passengers in 45 minutes;
	90 per cent. of non-EEA passengers in 30 minutes;
	EEA passengers with minimal delay.
	The UK Immigration Service currently clear 99 per cent. of non-EEA passengers in less than 45 minutes, and 98 per cent. of non-EEA passengers in less than 30 minutes. Although there is no specific measurement of the time taken to process EEA passengers, close monitoring of passenger flows and effective deployment of staff ensure EEA passengers are cleared with minimal delay.
	The UK Immigration Service's performance is also measured independently against the British Airports Authority (BAA) quality of service standards, which includes queuing times. The Immigration Service continues to score well against this measure.

Police Animals

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) dogs and (b) horses are employed by each police force, broken down by species.

Hazel Blears: There are 305 horses used by the police in England and Wales and 33 in Scotland.
	In England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, including the UKAEAC (UK Atomic Energy Authority Constabulary) there are approximately 2,200 dogs used by the police. These are predominately German Shepherd dogs. There are also Malinois (similar to a German Shepherd, but a little smaller, and a handful of Rottweilers. These are generally used for General Purpose and Non-Compliant Attack Dogs. The dogs that are used in connection with scent detection are generally Springer Spaniels and Labradors.

Police Authorities

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he next plans to meet with the heads of police authorities in the UK; and what he plans to discuss.

Hazel Blears: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and I have frequent bilaterals with the Chairman of the Association of Police Authorities, as well as meeting individual chairs rather than heads of individual police authorities, and the discussions cover a very wide range of policing and crime reduction issues.

Security Vetting

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment will be made of vetting arrangements in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) Scotland in taking forward recommendations arising from the Bichard Inquiry.

Hazel Blears: Representatives from the Northern Ireland Office and the Scottish Executive sit on the Bichard Implementation Programme Board and Working Groups, taking forward the programme to implement the Bichard Report's 31 recommendations.
	The work to enhance vetting procedures in the light of Sir Michael's recommendations will be considered by the Programme Board in the light of the full range of requirements, including those appertaining to Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Security Vetting

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps will be taken to include relevant organisations and bodies in Northern Ireland in taking forward recommendations arising from the Bichard Inquiry, with particular reference to the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Hazel Blears: The Bichard Implementation Programme Board will oversee the work to implement all 31 of the Bichard report's recommendations. The President of the Association of Chief Police Officers has accepted an invitation to sit on the Board, convened by the Home Office as co-ordinating Department, and to liaise with Police Service of Northern Ireland on emerging issues and outcomes.
	Representatives from the Northern Ireland Office participate in the Programme Board and its feeder Working Groups. This provides a firm link into issues which are specific to Northern Ireland and a connection to other relevant organisations.

Special Constables (Northampton)

Tony Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables there are in Northampton; and how many there were in (a) 2001 and (b) 1997.

Hazel Blears: Figures for the total number of special constables in Northamptonshire police force are contained in the annually published police service strength figures. The latest are contained in Home Office Statistical Bulletin 11/03 and are for the year ending 31 March 2003. They are shown, together with figures for 1997 and 2001. Figures for March 2004 will be published later this year.
	
		
			  Number of special constables 
		
		
			 March 2003 189 
			 March 2001 188 
			 March 1997 316 
		
	
	There are no separate statistics published for the number of special constables in Basic Command Units.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Belarus

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on democracy in Belarus.

Denis MacShane: Belarus' record on human rights and democratisation is poor. In the past year numerous independent newspapers, NGOs and opposition parties have faced increased harassment, giving rise to concerns that the Belarusian Government is waging a campaign to stamp out any criticism prior to parliamentary elections in October.
	The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has condemned previous elections in Belarus for failing to meet OSCE commitments for democratic elections. The Belarusian authorities have so far refused to amend unsatisfactory electoral legislation. EU Heads of Missions in Minsk have already conveyed our concerns to the Belarusian Government. We welcome the recent invitation from the Government of Belarus to ODIHR to send an Election Observation Mission. The UK plans to contribute 10 per cent. of the short and long-term observers as well as the Head and Deputy Head of the mission.

Cyprus

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Tooting (Tom Cox) of 14 July 2004, Official Report, column 1184W, on Cyprus, what matters he discussed with members of the Government of Cyprus relating to the outcome of the referenda held earlier this year.

Denis MacShane: My right hon. Friend and I have discussed with the Government of the Republic of Cyprus a variety of issues relating to the outcome of the referenda held earlier this year. These have focused on the future of the island, particularly now that Cyprus has joined the EU; and on how the EU might deliver on its commitment of 26 April to end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots.

EU Enlargement

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the effect of EU enlargement upon the UK-EU relationship.

Denis MacShane: Enlargement is one of the EU's greatest policy successes, spreading peace, prosperity and stability across the continent. This Government have consistently championed EU enlargement, demonstrating the constructive role we play at the heart of the EU. We will continue to work closely with all our EU partners, including the new member states, to sustain our influence within the enlarged EU.

EU Funding

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list (a) youth, (b) campaigning and (c) social groups that received EU monies in the last year for which statistics are available, under the A-30 budget lines; and if he will deposit the (i) audits and (ii) original bids in the Library.

Denis MacShane: The groups that received money in 2004 under the budget lines formerly known as the A-30 budget lines were as follows:
	
		
			 Old nomenclature (pre-2004) Activity based budgeting nomenclature (2004>) Recipient group 
		
		
			 Equality between men and women   
			 A-3037 04 05 01 European Women's Lobby 
			 A-3046 04 05 03 Women's organisations 
			
			 Education and Training   
			 A-3010 25 02 01 01 Historical archives of the European Union 
			 A-3011 15 02 01 03 European University Institute, Florence 
			 A-3012 15 02 01 04 European Law Academy (Trier) 
			 A-3013 15 02 01 05 European Institute of Public Administration (Maastricht) 
			 A-3014 19 04 01 European Inter-university Centre 
			 A-3017 03 02 01 Organisations for co-operation in the field of European Law 
			 A-3022 15 02 01 06 Study and research centre 
			 A-3027 15 02 01 07 International Centre for European Training 
			 A-3044 15 02 01 08 European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education 
			
			 Youth   
			 A-3023 15 07 01 01 European Youth Forum 
			 A-3029 15 07 01 02 Support for international non-governmental youth organisations 
			
			 Culture   
			 A-3015 15 04 01 01 European Bureau for Lesser-used Languages and Mercator 
			 A-3035 15 04 01 02 Preservation of Nazi concentration camps sites as historical memorials 
			 A-3042 15 04 01 03 Subsidy for cultural organisations advancing the idea of Europe 
			
			 Promoting European Civic Participation  
			 A-3016 18 06 03 Association of the Councils of State and Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions of the Union 
			 A-3020 15 06 01 02 "Our Europe" Association 
			 A-3021 15 06 01 03 Grants to European think tanks and organisations advancing the idea of Europe 
			 A-3024 15 06 01 04 Associations and federations of European interest 
			 A-3026 15 06 01 05 European think tanks 
			 A-3030 18 03 01 European Council on Refugees and Exiles 
			 A-3036 15 06 01 06 Support for the Jean Monnet House and the Robert Schuman House 
			
			 Promoting mutual understanding between EU and non-industrialised regions 
			 A-3031 19 02 02 Institutes specialising in relations between the European Union and third countries 
		
	
	Organisations seeking A-30 budget lines submit their bids directly to the Commission and are not required to send copies to member state governments. The Council can amend the funding proposed for each of the former A-30 budget lines during annual negotiations on the general budget of the European Communities.
	The European Court of Auditors (EGA) audits the EC Budget on an annual basis though its report will not include separate audits of each organisation receiving A-30 budget line funding. However, the ECA may decide to issue a special report on particular activities—a list of these reports is published at the back of the ECA's latest annual report which has been placed in the Library of the House. Additionally, individual organisations may be required to publish annual accounts under their terms of establishment.

EU Summit

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what outcomes he hopes will be achieved at the EU summit on 29 October.

Denis MacShane: I expect the EU Constitution to be signed by Heads of State and Government of EU member states.

EU-US Economic Output

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what forecasts he has received of the relative levels of economic output in the EU and the US in 2010.

Denis MacShane: GDP per head in the EU has been persistently lower than that in the US in recent decades. This, allied with the significant demographic challenge that the EU will face in coming years, emphasises the need for significant structural reform if Europe is to close the gap with the US in output per capita.
	The Government's February progress report on European economic reform and recent submission to Mr. Wim Kok's Lisbon Mid-Term Review Group, highlight these challenges and set out the Government thinking on how Europe can successfully rise to those challenges.
	Copies of both Government papers are available in the Library of the House.

European Constitutional Treaty

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Minister will attend the signing ceremony of the European Constitutional Treaty on 29 October.

Denis MacShane: I cannot confirm at this stage which Minister will attend.

European Neighbourhood Policy

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the impact of the European Union's European Neighbourhood Packages on the UK's diplomatic relations with Russia.

Bill Rammell: The UK strongly supports the EU's European Neighbourhood Policy, which offers partner countries closer co-operation in areas of mutual interest, in return for political and economic reform.
	The UK maintains close relations with Russia, including through the EU-Russia relationship. We have discussed the European Neighbourhood Policy with Russia and explained how we see it contributing to stability on Europe's eastern borders, which is in both our and Russia's interest.
	These packages complement the UK's bilateral relations with Russia.

European Neighbourhood Policy

Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the decision to exclude Belarus from the European Neighbourhood Policy; what steps the Government have taken since that decision was taken to end the isolation of Belarus from the European Union; and what steps the Government plan to take to address this situation.

Denis MacShane: The UK wants Belarus to become a democratic, stable and increasingly prosperous partner for the enlarged EU. However, Belarus's continuing poor record on human rights and democracy is an obstacle to a closer relationship. We and EU partners have set out the steps that Belarus would need to take in return for ratification of a Partnership and Co-operation Agreement (PCA) and eventual full association with relevant regional EU initiatives, potentially including the European Neighbourhood Policy.
	While measures such as restrictions on ministerial contact with the regime remain in place, we do not believe in isolating the people of Belarus. We are doing all we can to bolster civil society and promote democracy, using bilateral programme funds disbursed through our embassy and working via multilateral institutions.
	The EU continues to support the people of Belarus in areas including addressing the consequences of the Chernobyl catastrophe, health education, environment, trans-border and regional co-operation, border management and independent media.

Ferhat Kaya

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Turkish authorities regarding the arrest and alleged torture of Ferhat Kaya.

Denis MacShane: UK officials have raised the case of Mr. Kaya with the Turkish authorities on several occasions, most recently at a senior level at the last round of our Human Rights Dialogue with Turkey on 15 July in London. The trial of 11 police accused of beating and torturing Ferhat Kaya on 5 May began on 20 June after a doctor's report certified Mr. Kaya's injuries. Our Embassy in Ankara continues to monitor Mr. Kaya's situation.

Former Soviet Bloc Countries

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what research his Department has commissioned regarding the possibility of further former Soviet Bloc countries applying for membership of the European Union.

Denis MacShane: No such research has been commissioned.
	Any European state may apply for EU membership in line with Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union.

Israel

Tony Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the effects of the security barrier being built by the Government of Israel on Palestinian communities; what representations he has received from non-governmental organisations on the effects of the wall on their work in the occupied territories; and what representations he has made to Israel about minimising possible detrimental effects.

Bill Rammell: We remain concerned about the negative impact of the barrier on communities near it. We note that the Israeli Supreme Court has ordered changes to the route of the barrier because of similar concerns.
	We receive regular representations on this subject from NGOs working in the Occupied Territories. In response, we encourage the Israeli Government both to consider more seriously the humanitarian impact of its actions there, and to give NGOs clear guidelines to help them maximise the effectiveness of their support for affected Palestinian communities.

Israel

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to renegotiate the EU-Israeli Association Trade Agreement.

Denis MacShane: We have no plans to renegotiate the trade elements of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

Lisbon Agenda

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the mid-term review of the Lisbon agenda in 2005.

Denis MacShane: The Government set out their vision for a more focused, results-oriented Lisbon process in a paper submitted to Wim Kok, Chairman of the Lisbon Mid-Term Review Group chair and EU partners in June. The Government are pressing for:
	greater focus on economic prosperity as a key to social cohesion;
	increased accountability of national governments in delivering reform;
	better use of Community rules and instruments to deliver reform, including use of non-regulatory approaches, highlighting the role of the state aids rules and showing how Community spending can better be aligned with the Lisbon agenda; and
	key reforms needed to meet Lisbon targets, including reducing the regulatory burden on business, strengthening the Single Market, improving employment flexibility and opening up EU markets to the benefits of global trade.
	Copies of the Government's submission to the Lisbon Mid-Term Review will be made available in the Library of the House and can be accessed at: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/9A9DB/Mid-term review of the Lisbon strategy062004.pdf)

Lisbon Agenda

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures he will take in order to achieve the targets of the Lisbon Agenda.

Denis MacShane: The Government set out their priorities for European economic reform in their progress report in February. Copies are available in the Library of the House. Priorities are to:
	promote effective EU regulation—reduce the burden on EU business and ensure that any new legislation encourages not stifles economic growth;
	strengthen the Single Market, with a more pro-active competition policy, further reform of the state aid rules, and by making the Single Market a reality for services as well as goods;
	to improve the functioning of Europe's labour markets to deliver more and better jobs, including through implementation of Mr. Wim Kok's Employment Taskforce recommendations;
	promote enterprise and innovation, including through new European Centres of Enterprise—local centres of excellence in enterprise policy;
	promote a successful conclusion to the Doha Trade round; and
	strengthen the transatlantic economic relationship, by tackling the barriers to trade and investment between the EU and the US.
	The Government continue to work closely with their partners to promote action on all of these priorities, including through the mid-term review of the Lisbon strategy, chaired by Mr. Wim Kok. We submitted our vision for a more focused, results-oriented Lisbon process to the Mid-Term Review Group in June (copies will be made available in the Library of the House and can be accessed at: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/9A9DB/Mid-term review of the Lisbon strategy062004.pdf)

Moldova

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what relationship the Government has with the Government of Moldova; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: The UK enjoys a constructive relationship with Moldova and has a strong interest in its security and development. Since independence, Moldova has achieved progress on promoting human rights and democracy. However, we have concerns in some areas. We have stressed the importance of the parliamentary elections in early 2005 for the Government of Moldova to demonstrate its commitment to the values of democracy, rule of law and human rights.
	We remain concerned about the situation in Transnistria, and want to see negotiations on a political settlement brought to an early and successful conclusion. The EU continues to call on the two parties, in particular the Transnistrians, to negotiate constructively and in good faith.
	Together with our EU partners we will continue to raise any concerns we have with the Moldovan Government, bilaterally through our embassies in Chisinau, in multilateral fora and through public declarations.

Moldova

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support his Department is giving to (a) the economic progress of Moldova and (b) the development of democracy there.

Denis MacShane: The UK supports economic reform and democratic development in Moldova, including through EU programmes. Moldova is a priority country for the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), launched by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary in spring 2002 as the Wider Europe initiative. The ENP offers the new neighbours of the enlarged EU greater integration, including deeper trade and economic relations, in return for economic and political reforms.
	Our embassy in Chisinau continues to support democratic development and good governance and will support several projects in the run up to elections in early 2005.
	In addition to Foreign and Commonwealth Office assistance, the Department for International Development's bilateral programme for Moldova contributed £8.4 million between 2000 and 2003. The planned programme contribution for 2004 is £2.3 million. The UK also supports the IMF, World Bank, and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in their efforts to promote economic reform in Moldova.
	Since 1991, the EU has provided assistance to Moldova totalling Euros 253 million including technical assistance under the TACIS programme.

Moldova

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received regarding the Russian forces based in Moldova.

Denis MacShane: Several groups have raised their concerns about the dispute in Transnistria and the continuing presence of Russian forces in Moldova with my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary. The Government share these concerns. We want Russia to fulfil commitments made when signing the Adapted Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty at the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Summit in Istanbul in 1999. These commitments include the full withdrawal of arms and ammunition from Transnistria, or their destruction in situ, and the withdrawal of Russian forces. Together with NATO allies we have stated that:
	"we can envisage ratification of the Adapted CFE Treaty only in the context of full compliance by all State Parties with agreed treaty limits and consistent with the commitments contained in the CFE Final Act".

PFI/PPP

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many contracts his Department had with (a) Barclays Bank, (b) the Royal Bank of Scotland, (c) UBS Warburg and (d) the Bank of Scotland for advice on private finance initiative and public private partnership contracts in each financial year since 2001–02; and what fees were paid in each case.

Bill Rammell: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has had no contracts with Barclays Bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS Warburg and the Bank of Scotland for advice on private sector finance initiative and public private finance partnership contracts during the period specified.

Qualified Majority Voting

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the conditions of employment for union staff will be decided by qualified majority voting under the European constitution.

Denis MacShane: The staff regulations and conditions of employment for officials of the European institutions are currently decided by qualified majority voting under articles 210, 247(8) and 283 of the treaty establishing the European Community. They will continue to be decided by qualified majority voting under articles III.306 and III.333 of the EU constitutional treaty.

Qualified Majority Voting

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the penalties available to the European Court of Justice will be decided by qualified majority voting under the European Constitution; and whether this represents a change from article 229 TEC.

Denis MacShane: Article 229 of the treaty establishing the European Community has been reproduced in essentials in the new constitutional treaty as article III-268. The procedures for determining penalties will therefore remain as now: that is, they will depend on the legal base for the specific legal instrument under consideration.

Serbia

Martin Salter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on whether ethnic Albanians are being refused entry to Serbia; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: We are not aware of any reports of the authorities in Serbia and Montenegro refusing to allow ethnic Albanians into the country if they have a valid passport.

Sierra Leone

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political climate in Sierra Leone.

Chris Mullin: The UK continues to make a significant political, military and financial investment in Sierra Leone to tackle the root causes of the conflict and to ensure sustainable peace.
	Sierra Leone has now enjoyed over two years of peace under a democratically elected government. In May, the first local elections for 32 years took place. In the same month, the Special Court for Sierra Leone started its first trials to bring to justice those who bear the greatest responsibility for war crimes and atrocities committed during the conflict.
	Following extensive security sector reforms, UN peacekeepers expect to withdraw by the end of 2005.

US Visa Requirements

Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the US Administration on the changes requiring UK visitors to obtain a visa in person due to unavailability of biometric data passports; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: We have had regular ministerial and official contacts with the US Administration and members of Congress about maintaining the UK's position within the US Visa Waiver Programme (VWP).
	The United States amended its border security legislation on 9 August, extending the deadline by one year to 26 October 2005 for countries in the VWP to introduce a biometric identifier in new passports. The non-availability of biometric passports would have no impact on visa requirements for British passport holders before that date.
	The UK's biometric passport programme, on which the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is working closely under the Home Office's lead, involves the introduction of cutting edge technology. It is important we get this right. Along with other VWP countries, the UK may need to approach the US for a further extension in the new year to allow adequate time for development and testing before UK biometric passports are issued.

Venezuela

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has had discussions over the last 36 months with the United States Administration regarding its position on unrest in Venezuela; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We are in regular contact with the US Administration at all levels and our discussions cover a variety of issues, including Venezuela.

Venezuela

Peter Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support the British Government offered to Venezuela following the referendum which elected President Chavez in December 1999; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: President Chavez was elected to office in 1998 and re-elected in 2000. A referendum was held in December 1999, to approve a new constitution.
	We have consistently supported the democratic and constitutional process in Venezuela, particularly the agreement between the Venezuelan Government and opposition in May 2003, which called for a "peaceful, democratic, electoral and constitutional" outcome in Venezuela.

HEALTH

Alzheimer's Disease

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what proportion of Alzheimer's patients have access to acetylcholinesterase inhibitors on the NHS;
	(2)  what progress he is making with plans for all Alzheimer's patients to have access to acetylcholinesterase inhibitors on the NHS; and when he expects access on the NHS to be available for all.

Stephen Ladyman: Information on the proportion of Alzheimer's patients having access to anti-dementia drugs is not available. In January 2001, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence recommended that the acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon) and galantamine (Reminyl) should be made available on the national health service as one component of the management of those people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.

Care Homes

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) care homes and (b) care home places were available in Suffolk in each of the last six years run by (i) Suffolk county council and (ii) the voluntary independent and private sector in Suffolk.

Stephen Ladyman: The table shows the number of care homes and places run by the council and the voluntary and private sector in Suffolk as at 31 March for the years 1998 to 2001.
	
		Number of care homes and places available in Suffolk at 31 March 1998–2001
		
			  Residential 
			 At 31 March Council staffed Independent sector Nursing(8) Total 
		
		
			 Number of homes(9) 
			 1998 35 220 75 330 
			 1999 35 215 65 315 
			 2000 35 215 60 310 
			 2001 35 215 60 305 
			 
			 Number of places 
			 1998 1,195 3,490 2,290 6,975 
			 1999 1,065 3,320 2,195 6,580 
			 2000 1,060 3,365 2,110 6,535 
			 2001 1,070 3,395 2,140 6,605 
		
	
	(8) Includes places in general nursing homes, mental nursing homes and private hospitals and clinics.
	(9) Dual registered homes are included under nursing homes.
	Note:
	Figures for residential care are for Suffolk council with social services responsibilities and for nursing care they are for Suffolk health authority.
	Figures may not add up due to rounding.
	I understand from the Chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that figures for later years were collected by the National Care Standards Commission, and now CSCI, but comparable details are not available.

Continuing Care

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average time taken to (a) review and (b) determine appeals by people who believed that they had been wrongly charged for continuing care (i) was before 31 March and (ii) has been since 31 March.

Stephen Ladyman: It is expected that all retrospective review cases will be completed within two months of receipt of all the relevant documentation. I will be making a statement to the House on retrospective continuing care reviews in due course.

Continuing Care

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what proportion of continuing care cases for which a review was pending at the end of March had been completed by 31 July;
	(2)  how many (a) families and (b) individuals have received compensation for wrongly-assessed continuing care; how many in each case are awaiting payment; and how much compensation has been paid so far.

Stephen Ladyman: In due course, I will make a statement to the House on the number of completed retrospective continuing care reviews and how many people have been granted recompense.

Dentistry

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to publish an order under section 60 of the Health Act 1999 to amend the Dentists Act 1984 to introduce Clinical Dental Technicians and other Professions Complementary to Dentistry.

Rosie Winterton: We issued a draft of an Order for consultation on 30 July which, with other amendments to the Dentists Act 1984 to modernise the regulation of dentistry, would give the General Dental Council powers to register additional classes of professional complementary to dentistry including dental nurses, dental technicians and clinical dental technicians. Comments on the draft are requested by 30 October and it will subsequently be laid before Parliament for debate under the affirmative procedure. Subject to approval, we expect the Order to come into force during 2005.

Drug and Alcohol Programmes

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that places on drug and alcohol programmes are not disproportionately allocated to those convicted of criminal activity.

Melanie Johnson: The National Treatment Agency is committed to ensuring that treatment services provide a quick and accessible service for all substance misusers requiring treatment. Drug action teams have local responsibility for ensuring that treatment services are provided.
	The Government are committed to doubling the numbers of drug misusers in treatment by 2008 and improving access into treatment from both community and criminal justice routes.
	The Government are on track to meet this target. In 2002–03, there were 140,900 drug misusers in treatment.

NHS Dentists

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists there were in Suffolk in each of the last seven years.

Stephen Ladyman: The number of national health service dentists in Suffolk primary care trusts (PCTs) over the last seven years for which data are currently available is shown in the table.
	
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Central Suffolk PCT(10) 22 24 26 27 24 23 24 
			 Suffolk Coastal PCT(11) 29 29 33 32 30 27 27 
			 Suffolk West PCT(12) 79 78 85 86 95 106 111 
		
	
	(10) Figures for Central Suffolk PCT are based on general dental service (GDS) contracts only. There are no personal dental service (PDS) dentists in this PCT area.
	(11) Figures for Suffolk Coastal PCT are based on GDS contracts only. There are no PDS dentists in this PCT area.
	(12) Figures are based on GDS and PDS contracts.

NHS Dentists

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) adults and (b) children were waiting to be registered with an NHS dentist in each primary care trust in Suffolk in each of the last seven years.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Prison Health Care

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the differences between the interventions that can be made by a general practitioner when dealing with a patient and a prison doctor when dealing with a prisoner.

Stephen Ladyman: It would not be practicable to attempt to do so. The Prison Service's standard, "Health Services for Prisoners", has as its overall objective to provide prisoners with access to the same range and quality of services as the general public receives from the national health service. The prison health team is leading and managing a programme of work to develop health services for prisoners that are in line with NHS practice. However, the reality of the prison environment means that it may not always be possible exactly to replicate in prisons every treatment intervention that is available in the community.

Prison Health Care

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what rights a prisoner has to access needle exchange schemes in prison.

Stephen Ladyman: There are no present plans to introduce needle exchange schemes in prisons, although the position is kept under review.

Prison Health Care

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what circumstances a prison doctor may order (a) physical restraints and (b) detention of a prisoner in a special cell.

Stephen Ladyman: The Prison Service's standard, "Health Services for Prisoners", provides that treatment and emergency care of patients who withhold consent is to be managed in accordance with Prison Service Instruction 38/2002, "Guidance on Consent to Medical Treatment". The associated Prison Service Information and Practice Note 3/2002 sets out the requirements and procedures for dealing with prisoners when there are restraint and control implications alongside health needs.
	Prison Service Order 1600, "Use of Force", states that a prisoner may be placed in a special cell only on the prior authority of the governor or controller in charge of the establishment. If he/she cannot be contacted, the decision may be taken by the officer for the time being in charge of the establishment. A prison doctor must be notified as soon as possible and must examine the prisoner as soon as practicable for any clinical contra-indications.

Prison Health Care

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what rights a prisoner has to medical confidentiality.

Stephen Ladyman: The duty of confidentiality arising from the common law of confidentiality, professional obligations and contracts of employment owed by all healthcare professionals to their patients extends to people in prison. The Prison Service's standard, "Health Services for Prisoners", stipulates that medical information on prisoners must be managed in accordance with relevant legislation, principally the Data Protection Act 1998, and the National Health Service Code of Practice on confidentiality.

Prison Health Care

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what right a homosexual prisoner has to (a) HIV tests and (b) access to condoms.

Stephen Ladyman: Prisoners have access to HIV-test counselling and where appropriate, testing in the same way as members of the public. Prison doctors have been advised that they should make condoms available to any prisoner, on application, if in their clinical judgment there is a risk of infection from HIV.

Prison Health Care

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what right a prisoner has to see (a) a doctor, (b) a dentist, (c) a chiropodist, (d) a gynaecologist and (e) a specialist or surgeon.

Stephen Ladyman: The overall objective of the Prison Service's standard, "Health Services for Prisoners", is to provide prisoners with access to the same range and quality of services as the general public receives from the national health service. Establishments are required to develop needs-based health services in partnership with local primary care trusts and other NHS agencies which deliver effective, evidence-based care to individual prisoners and the prison population as a whole. Each establishment must have a clear and observed policy statement about what primary care, dental and other specialist services are available to prisoners, and who is responsible for providing them.

Renal Services

Patrick Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to publish a delivery plan for the first two modules of the Renal Services national framework published on 14 January.

Rosie Winterton: Part one of the national service framework for renal services sets out the steps the national health service can take to support delivery of the standards and markers of good practice. A separate delivery strategy is therefore unnecessary as it is integral to the document.

Renal Services

Patrick Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the third and fourth modules of the Renal Services national service framework on prevention and palliative care to be published.

Rosie Winterton: Part two of the national service framework for Renal Services, covering prevention and end of life care, is in preparation and will be published in due course.

Renal Services

Patrick Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who will have responsibility for monitoring the progress made by primary care trusts in implementing the five steps that need to be taken by 2006 which were outlined in the recently published first two modules of the Renal Services national service framework; and what action will be taken in the event that primary care trusts do not implement those five steps.

Rosie Winterton: Primary care trusts are accountable to strategic health authorities for monitoring and managing progress against the national service framework (NSF) for renal services. Responsibility for assessing and reporting the performance of individual national health service bodies against national standards published in "National Standards, Local Action", including the adoption of best practice defined in NSFs, rests with the Healthcare Commission.

Waiting Lists

Anthony D Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many inpatients in Great Yarmouth had to wait more than (a) three, (b) six, (c) nine and (d) 12 months for treatment in each year since 1997; and what the percentage change in each year was in each case.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested for the residents of Great Yarmouth, Great Yarmouth Primary Care Trust (PCT), the latest data available, is shown in the table.
	
		Count of elective in-year admissions (waiting list and booked cases) and percentage changes by grouped waiting time,1996–97 to 2002–03 -- PCT code (PCT of residence) = 5GT (Great Yarmouth), national health service hospitals, England
		
			  Up to 3 months Percentage change (up to 3 months) More than 3 up to 6 months Percentage change (more than 3 up to 6 months) More than 6 up to 9 months Percentage change (more than 6 up to 9 months) More than 9 up to 12 months Percentage change (more than 9 up to 12 months) 
		
		
			 1996–97 7,410 — 1,329 — 552 — 403 — 
			 1997–98 7,032 -5.1 1,271 -4.4 603 9.2 442 9.7 
			 1998–99 7,326 4.2 1,381 8.7 687 13.9 462 4.5 
			 1999–2000 7,337 0.2 1,355 -1.9 554 -19.4 240 -48.1 
			 2000–01 7,117 -3.0 1,224 -9.7 609 9.9 224 -6.7 
			 2001–02 5,403 -24.1 1,036 -15.4 548 -10.0 260 16.1 
			 2002–03 5,496 1.7 1,046 1 .0 740 35.0 591 127.3 
		
	
	
		
			  More than 12 months Percentage change (more than 12 months Not known Percentage change (not known) Elective in-year admissions Percentage change (elective in-year admissions) 
		
		
			 1996–97 182 — 295 — 10,171 — 
			 1997–98 297 63.2 288 -2.4 9,933 -2.3 
			 1998–99 292 -1.7 132 -54.2 10,280 3.5 
			 1999–2000 169 -42.1 137 3.8 9,792 -4.7 
			 2000–01 233 37.9 156 13.9 9,563 -2.3 
			 2001–02 212 -9.0 42 -73.1 7,501 -21.6 
			 2002–03 294 38.7 44 4.8 8,211 9.5 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. An in-year admission is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider, excluding admissions beginning before 1 April at the start of the data year. Periods of care ongoing at the end of the data year (unfinished admission episodes) are included. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	2. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
	3. Time waited statistics from hospital episode statistics (HES) are not the same as the published waiting list statistics. HES provides counts and time waited for all patients admitted to hospital within a given period, whereas the published waiting list statistics count those waiting for treatment on a specific date and how long they have been on the waiting list. Also, HES calculates the time waited as the difference between the admission and decision to admit dates. Unlike published waiting list statistics, this is not adjusted for self-deferrals or periods of medical/social suspension.
	Source:
	HES, Department of Health.

West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) doctors, (b) nurses, (c) managers, (d) administrators and (e) midwives were employed by the West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust in each of the last seven years.

Stephen Ladyman: The numbers of doctors, nurses, managers, administrators and midwives employed by West Suffolk Hospitals National Health Service Trust in each of the last seven years are shown in the following tables.
	
		Hospital, public health medicine and community health services (HCHS): medical and dental staff, and non-medical within West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust -- Number (headcount)
		
			  As at 30 September each year 
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Medical and dental staff 173 183 177 206 208 215 240 
			 
			 Non-medical staff 1,911 1,812 2,060 2,104 2,271 2,381 2,833 
			 Of which:
			 Professionally qualified clinical staff 906 846 963 993 1,103 1,175 1,343 
			 Qualified nurses 688 612 719 728 832 860 1,001 
			 Of which: midwives 14 12 10 9 8 91 96 
			 Qualified scientific, technical and therapeutic (ST&T) 218 234 244 265 271 315 342 
			 
			 Support to clinical staff 685 666 790 765 802 834 965 
			 Support to doctors and nurses 630 612 735 714 737 770 888 
			 Support to ST&T 55 54 55 51 65 64 77 
			 
			 NHS infrastructure support 320 300 307 346 366 372 525 
			 Central functions 78 87 95 99 114 112 112 
			 Hotel property and estate staff 196 177 178 213 217 220 368 
			 Managers and senior managers 46 36 34 34 35 40 45 
		
	
	Sources:
	Department of Health medical and dental workforce census.
	Department of Health non-medical workforce census.
	
		NHS hospital and community health services: Total Qualified Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting staff and Managers and Support staff employed by the West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust in each specified year -- Headcount
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Total 1,911 1,812 2,060 2,104 2,271 2,381 2,833 
			 
			 Professionally qualified clinical staff total 906 846 963 993 1,103 1,175 1,343 
			 Qualified nurses 688 612 719 728 832 860 1,001 
			 Of which:
			 Midwives1 14 12 10 9 8 91 96 
			 Qualified ST&T 218 234 244 265 271 315 342 
			 
			 Support to clinical staff Total 685 666 790 765 802 834 965 
			 Support to doctors and nurses 630 612 735 714 737 770 888 
			 Support to ST&T 55 54 55 51 65 64 77 
			 
			 NHS infrastructure support Total 320 300 307 346 366 372 525 
			 Central functions 78 87 95 99 114 112 112 
			 Hotel property and estate staff(14) 196 177 178 213 217 220 368 
			 Managers and senior managers 46 36 34 34 35 40 45 
		
	
	(13) Prior to the September 2002 census, midwives had previously been miscoded. Therefore, figures for 2002 and 2003 cannot be directly compared to earlier years.
	(14) Between the 2002 and 2003 censuses some domestic services staff were transferred from external bodies to the direct employment of the Trust.
	Source:
	Department of Health non-medical workforce census.

West Suffolk NHS Hospitals Trust

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations were carried out by the West Suffolk NHS Hospitals Trust in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: The information is not held in the format requested. However, the number of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) for each year since 1997 for West Suffolk Hospitals National Health Service Trust is shown in the table.
	
		FCEs, 1996–97 to 2002–03—all operation count of FCEs (four character OPCS4 codes A01.0-X59.9), provider code = RGR (West Suffolk NHS Hospitals Trust), NHS hospitals, England
		
			  FCEs 
		
		
			 1996–97 22,282 
			 1997–98 24,286 
			 1998–99 27,336 
			 1999–2000 28,068 
			 2000–01 29,095 
			 2001–02 29,085 
			 2002–03 30,878 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. A FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.
	2. All operations count of episodes: these figures represent a count of all FCE's where the procedure was mentioned in any of the 12 (four prior to 2002–03) operation fields in a HES record. A record is only included once in each count, even if an operation is mentioned in more than one operation field of the record.
	3. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
	Source:
	Hospital episode statistics, Department of Health.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Bereavement Grant

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of providing a bereavement grant of £200 to surviving pensioner partners.

Chris Pond: The information is in the table.
	
		Estimated costs of and gainers from payment of 200 bereavement grant to surviving pensioner partners, Great Britain, deaths in 2005–06
		
			  Gainers (Thousand) Costs (£ million) 
		
		
			 Bereavement grant, no offsetting savings 175 35 
			 Bereavement grant, offset against funeral payments 160 32 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Estimated gainers to the nearest five thousand, costs to the nearest million pounds
	2. Numbers of widowed pensioners estimated from GAD projections for England and Wales. Number of cohabiting bereaved estimated from household survey information.
	3. Social Fund Funeral Payment information from Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System. It is assumed that 60 per cent. of pensioner claims are with respect to deceased partners.
	4. No impact on income related benefits has been estimated. If the amount of the grant was regarded as capital there would be some offsetting reduction in expenditure on these benefits.
	5. Take-up of entitlement is assumed to be 100 per cent.

Pension Protection

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether protected rights accrued prior to April 1997 by members of a contracted out occupational pension scheme are underwritten by the Government in the event of a sponsoring employer becoming insolvent and unable to meet those rights; whether any shortfall in those rights will be met by the Pension Protection Fund from April 2005 onwards; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government do not underwrite protected rights. However, unless an offence has been committed, when a scheme winds-up it should have sufficient funds to pay the protected rights.
	The Pension Protection Fund is designed to protect members of defined benefit schemes and defined benefit elements of hybrid schemes. Only in the case of pension scheme fraud will the PPF consider compensating members of defined contribution schemes. Such protection has been provided by the Pensions Compensation Board since April 1997 and the PPF will assume this role when it is up and running in April 2005.

Pensioner Benefits

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost of (a) raising the annual Christmas bonus to £79.60, (b) giving a winter fuel payment of £300 to every household with a member over 60 years and (c) giving a free television licence to every household with a member over 60 years.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is in the table.
	
		
			 Proposal Estimated cost in 2004–05 (£ million) 
		
		
			 Raising the Christmas Bonus to £79.60 1,010 
			 Giving a Winter Fuel Payment of £300 to  every household with a member over 60 years 860 
			 Giving a free television licence to  every household with a member over 60 years 710 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. All figures relate to GB payments only, are in 2004–05 price terms and are rounded to the nearest 10 million.
	2. The Christmas Bonus is currently paid to people in receipt of a number of qualifying benefits, some of whom are of working age. These people are assumed to receive the Christmas Bonus at the new rate.
	3. Estimated costs for giving Winter Fuel Payments of £300 to every household with a member over 60 years are based on the 2003–04 Pensioner Household data set which is derived from the 2003–04 Winter Fuel Payment administrative data set.
	4. Estimated costs for free TV licences are based on the 2002–03 Family Resources and expenditure forecasts produced by the Department's Benefit and Forecasting Model Development Division.

Pensioners (Tax Payments)

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners paid (a) income tax and (b) council tax in the latest year for which figures are available.

Ruth Kelly: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. David Willets, dated 8 September 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions asking, for the latest year for which figures are available, for the total amount of (a) income tax and (b) council tax. paid by pensioners and the average tax per pensioner who paid each tax (187351), and how many pensioners paid each tax (187355).
	For estimates relating to income tax please see table 3.12 "Income and tax for individuals aged 65 and above, by region and country, 2001–02" on the Inland Revenue website: www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/income distribution/table-312–2001 -02.pdf. The information in this table relates to individual taxpayers, not households, who are aged 65 and above. This table does not include female taxpaying pensioners aged between 60 and 65. It shows there were about 4.1 million pensioners taxpayers aged 65 or over in the UK in 2001–02, with income tax liability of £8.2 billion. This gives an average tax of about £2,000 per pensioner taxpayer (aged 65 or over).
	Estimates for council tax paid by pensioner households have been produced from the Office for National Statistics' analysis "The effects of taxes and benefits on household income" published on the National Statistics website on 6 May 2004 at: www.statistics.gov.uk/taxesbenefits
	The analysis includes measures of income inequality for households in the United Kingdom as a whole based on data from the Expenditure and Food Survey. This is a sample survey covering about 7,000 households in the UK and sample sizes for pensioner households are only sufficient to give very approximate estimates.
	Estimates for 2002–03 suggest that that single and couple pensioner households in GB paid about £3.6 billion in council tax net of benefits and discounts. The average council tax paid by the approximately five million pensioner households (single and couples) who paid council tax (i.e. their council tax was greater than zero) was about £700 per year. Council tax is not paid in Northern Ireland. Net council tax is defined as gross council tax less benefits and discounts, where a household reports taking up a council tax benefit entitlement.
	These estimates of numbers of pensioners and payments of council tax may not match population data or administrative payments data because of sample size and weighting issues, as well as possible inaccurate reporting by respondents.
	Pensioner households have been defined as those where the Household Reference Person is retired or unoccupied and aged 65 or more and male, or 60 years of age or more and female, and economically inactive.
	Detailed information on the definition of the Household Reference Person can be found in Appendix D of the document at the following address: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme social/Family Spending 2002–03/Family Spending 2002–03 revised.pdf

Pensions

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the level of basic state pension and state second pension (a) on retirement and (b) at age 75 for a man with annual earnings of (i) £10,000, (ii) £20,000 and (iii) £30,000 over a 40-year working life; and what the projected level of the guarantee part of the pension credit would be, assuming current policies continue;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the state second pension accrual rate that would be necessary for the combined basic state pension and state second pension for a man with annual earnings of (a) £10,000, (b) £20,000 and (c) £30,000 over a 40-year working life to exceed the projected level of the guarantee part of the pension credit (i) on retirement and (ii) at age 75, assuming current policies continue;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the state second pension accrual rate that would be necessary for the combined basic state pension and state second pension for a man with annual earnings of (a) £10,000, (b) £20,000 and (c) £30,000 over a 40-year working life to exceed the projected level of the guarantee part of the pension credit (i) on retirement and (ii) at age 75, assuming that the retirement pension is uprated by the average of earnings and price inflation.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is provided in the tables.
	Table 1 shows the estimated amounts of basic state pension and state second pension that a single male with a 40-year working life, reaching state pension age in 2045 would receive.
	
		Table 1
		
			 Annual earnings Total state pension (£) 
		
		
			 £10,000 200 
			 £20,000 220 
			 £30,000 229 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are weekly amounts in 2004–05 price terms and are rounded to the nearest £1. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
	2. The weekly level of guarantee credit when this individual reaches state pension age in 2045 is estimated at £236, and at £287 10 years later when the man would be 75. Actual pension credit entitlement depends on both state and private income, savings as well as household circumstances.
	3. Currently basic and additional state pension are uprated in line with a minimum of prices and therefore remain constant in real terms.
	4. Future policy on calculation and uprating of benefits is for future Parliaments to determine. For the purposes of these projections, it has been assumed that (except where stated) all elements of state pension are uprated in line with prices once in payment and the guarantee credit rises in line with average earnings. Long term assumptions are in line with those for Budget 2004.
	5. It is assumed that a man starts paying Class 1 national insurance contributions at age 25 following nine years without any credits and contributes for 40 years.
	6. An individual's earnings are assumed to rise in line with average long term earnings' growth and therefore increase in real terms.
	Table 2 shows the underlying accrual rate of state second pension required for the basic and state second pension of a man with a 40-year working life reaching state pension age in 2045 to exceed the level of the guarantee credit, at state pension age and at age 75.
	
		Table 2
		
			   Annual earnings in 2004 
			   £10,000 £20,000 £30,000 
			 Basic state pension Contributory pension above guarantee credit Required underlying rate of accrual in state second pension 
		
		
			 Increased in line with prices At state pension age (percentage) 26.20 22.50 21.20 
			  At age 75 (percentage) 34.70 29.80 28.10 
			  
			 Increased by average of prices and earnings At state pension age Current Current Current 
			  At age 75 (percentage) 26.30 22.60 21.20 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Where the current state second pension accrual rate is sufficient to ensure the combined value of basic state pension and state second pension exceeds the value of the guarantee credit, this has been denoted as "Current".
	2. The current underlying rate of accrual is 20 per cent. however state second pension is accrued at different rates for different bands of earnings. The rate shown here is the underlying rate that determines the rate in different bands. For example, the person earning £10,000 per year has an accrual rate in state second pension of 40 per cent., which is twice the underlying rate of 20 per cent.
	3. Future policy on calculation and uprating of benefits is for future Parliaments to determine. For the purposes of these projections, it has been assumed that (except where stated) all elements of state pension are uprated in line with prices once in payment and the guarantee credit rises in line with average earnings. Long term assumptions are in line with those for Budget 2004.
	4. It is assumed that a man starts paying Class 1 national insurance contributions at age 25 following nine years without any credits and contributes for 40 years.
	5. An individual's earnings are assumed to rise in line with average long term earnings' growth and therefore increase in real terms.

Pensions

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in Bridgwater (a) have been contacted about converting to direct payment, (b) are still to be contacted about converting to direct payment, (c) have not responded to the contact about converting to direct payment and (d) have chosen to open a Post Office Card Account.

Chris Pond: We do not have the information in the format requested. This could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Key figures on the progress of conversion to Direct Payment are available in the Library updated every four weeks.

Pensions

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the additional cost of uprating the basic state pension by the average of prices and earnings inflation annually for the next 50 years (a) gross and (b) net of savings in means-tested benefits and direct taxes.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is provided in the table:
	
		£ billion
		
			  (a) Gross cost (b) Net cost 
		
		
			 2005–06 0.3 0.1 
			 2006–07 0.7 0.4 
			 2007–08 1.0 0.5 
			 2008–09 1.3 0.7 
			 2009–10 1.7 0.9 
			 2020–21 6.3 3.4 
			 2055–56 32.7 17.4 
		
	
	1. Figures are costs for GB and Overseas in 2004–05 price terms, using the GDP deflator index, rounded to the nearest £100 million.
	2. For part (a), additional gross basic State Pension costs are estimated by the Government Actuary's Department and are consistent with Budget 2004 assumptions and use 2002 based population projections. Basic State Pension costs refer to the additional costs after allowing for consequential changes to National Insurance Fund benefits and non-means tested vote benefits.
	3. For part (b), costs net of income related benefits (savings credit, guarantee credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit) and income tax are calculated using the Department's policy simulation model for 2005–06 and 2006–07. For illustrative purposes it is assumed that the proportion of savings calculated for the 2006–07 year is constant for subsequent years.

TREASURY

EU Productivity

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action has been set by the EU as highest priority for new member states in generating rapid economic reform.

Ruth Kelly: The new member states have been integrated into the Broad Guidelines of the Economic Policies of the member states and the Community, for the period 2003–05 (BEPGs).
	The 2004 BEPG update highlighted country specific economic measures and priorities that each member state should undertake. Under "economic reforms to raise Europe's growth" potential, the Commission also suggested that the existing guidelines aiming at 'more and better jobs' and at 'increasing productivity and business dynamism' be implemented in a comprehensive and co-ordinated way by the new member states. Given the labour market situation is considerably worse in the new member states, the BEPGs recommend that policy efforts concentrate on a small number of priority areas that are likely to have the largest impact on labour market performances: ensuring that real wage developments reflect productivity growth; improving the financial incentives to work by reforming tax/benefit systems; improving skills and training, through the provisions of lifelong learning facilities; and undertaking appropriate reforms of labour market regulations.
	The BEPGs also indicate that R and D diffusion and technology transfers will be as important as R and D investment in accelerating the transition towards higher value-added activities. Sustaining a high level of foreign direct investment is essential, as is an increased responsiveness of the education and training systems to the changing needs of the labour market.

Bereavement Benefit

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans the Government has to carry forward into the new regime existing Inland Revenue rules allowing schemes to pay a bereavement benefit of up to £2,500 on the death of a pensioner at any age to cover funeral costs; and whether there will be transitional protection arrangements.

Ruth Kelly: Under the simplified tax rules for pensions, lump sum death benefits may normally only be paid where the member is under the age of 75 at death. This maintains the principle that pensions are to provide for retirement and not a means for passing capital through the generations.
	We have received representations from a small number of occupational pension schemes that pay a tax-free bereavement benefit of up to £2,500. We will be considering these representations carefully.

Child Poverty

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate the Government has made of (a) how many and (b) what percentage of children grew up in jobless households in (i) St. Helens and (ii) the UK, broken down by region, in each year since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Shaun Woodward, dated 8 September 2004
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about children in workless households. (186822)
	The attached table gives the available estimates of the number and the percentage of children resident in workless households in St. Helens Local Authority District and each region of the UK, for the three months ending May of each year from 1997 to 2004.
	Estimates are taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to sampling error. Estimates for St. Helens Local Authority District are based on small sample sizes and are subject to a high level of sampling variability. In particular, year-to-year changes are likely to show considerable volatility.
	
		Number and percentage of children living in workless households 1,2UK regions, 1997 to 2004 (three months periods ending in May) (19)
		
			 Region 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Percentage(17) 
			 North East 23.3 25.2 25.3 22.6 22.0 19.8 24.9 23.3 
			 North West 22.4 23.6 22.6 19.4 19.1 19.9 20.1 18.0 
			 in which: 
			 St. Helens LAD(18) 39 34 20 19 14 8 23 29 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 20.0 20.4 18.5 18.7 16.6 20.9 16.7 15.8 
			 East Midlands 16.3 16.9 14.8 13.1 15.6 14.2 16.0 12.2 
			 West Midlands 18.3 17.9 18.4 17.0 16.5 17.9 15.6 14.3 
			 East of England 14.2 13.5 12.8 11.2 10.1 10.7 10.7 12.4 
			 London 25.8 26.5 27.5 24.7 25.1 26.4 23.9 25.7 
			 South East 12.1 10.9 10.2 9.8 9.6 11.0 10.5 10.0 
			 South West 13.4 13.3 12.9 11.1 10.5 11.1 11.4 11.1 
			 Wales 21.8 20.7 21.2 20.3 21.6 19.7 17.5 19.4 
			 Scotland 19.3 18.6 17.6 17.5 16.1 14.2 16.0 18.4 
			 Northern Ireland 20.1 19.8 19.4 21.1 19.0 20.5 18.2 20.5 
			 United Kingdom 18.7 18.7 18.2 16.8 16.4 17.1 16.5 16.4 
			  
			 Thousand 
			 North East 122 132 134 117 107 94 120 103 
			 North West 319 335 314 271 264 277 283 245 
			 in which: 
			 St. Helens LAD(18) 16 12 9 5 3 1 6 7 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 201 200 182 182 156 194 157 146 
			 East Midlands 132 138 121 103 122 115 132 96 
			 West Midlands 196 190 191 178 173 187 153 144 
			 East of England 146 141 134 116 103 113 113 128 
			 London 356 380 400 365 369 379 342 381 
			 South East 182 164 157 151 149 165 149 146 
			 South West 119 117 118 101 95 99 95 96 
			 Wales 122 118 127 120 124 114 96 108 
			 Scotland 189 181 162 158 145 123 145 155 
			 Northern Ireland 87 83 76 79 74 78 72 79 
			 United Kingdom 2,171 2,179 2,116 1,941 1,879 1,939 1,857 1,825 
		
	
	(15) Children refers to children under 16.
	(16) Figures have not been adjusted for households with unknown economic activity status.
	(17) Children living in workless households as a percentage of children living in all working-age households with known economic activity status.
	(18) Estimates for St. Helens LAD are based on small sample sizes and are therefore subject to a high degree of sampling variability. They should be treated with caution.
	(19) Not seasonally adjusted
	Source:
	ONS Labour Force Survey

Civil Servants

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the latest available figures are for the cost of (a) a Grade 5 civil servant and (b) a Grade 7 civil servant for his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The Treasury's ranges F and E correspond to Grades 5 and 7 respectively. For a range F civil servant, the current average salary cost including London Allowances is £61,700, and the current average total staff cost including employer's NI and pension contributions is £78,700. For a range E civil servant, the current average salary cost including London Allowances is £42,200, and the current average total staff cost including employer's NI and pension contributions is £52,900.

Civil Servants

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average length of service is for (a) a grade 5 civil servant and (b) a grade 7 civil servant in his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: In HM Treasury, the average length of Government service for a grade 5 civil servant is 16 years, and for a grade 7 civil servant is 10 years.

Climate Change Levy

David Kidney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the operation of the Climate Change Levy, with particular reference to its effect on the Government's waste hierarchy.

John Healey: The Government continually review the use of all economic instruments, including the Climate Change Levy, across a broad range of areas. The first stage of the "Review of Environmental and Health Effects of Waste Management" was published earlier this year, and the second stage will be published shortly. Together these reports will help inform policy development and the wider debate on waste management, including the case for using economic instruments.

Designated Accommodation

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many rooms are set aside for (a) the use of smokers, (b) worship, broken down by religion, and (c) nursing mothers and pregnant women in each building and set of offices for which his Department is responsible.

Ruth Kelly: There are five dedicated smoking rooms and one prayer room in 1 Horse Guards Road. Nursing mothers and pregnant women have access to the suite of welfare facilities provided.

Household Saving

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of the removal of advanced dividend tax credit on levels of household saving.

Ruth Kelly: I believe the hon. Gentleman is referring to the removal of payable tax credits on dividends. This was one element of a package of measures, including lower corporation tax rates and increased capital allowances, designed to encourage investment and economic growth. Therefore it would be misleading to assess the impact of one measure in isolation.
	Furthermore, the Government has introduced a number of measures to encourage saving since 1999, such as reducing the rate of tax on dividends from 20 per cent. to 10 per cent. for starting and basic rate taxpayers; introducing the lower rate of tax for savings of 10 per cent. and the Individual Savings Account. The ISA has been very successful, with around 15 million savers—one in three adults—subscribing around £140 billion into their ISAs since they came into effect in April 1999.

Household Saving

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of reducing the maximum investment limits on Individual Savings Accounts on household saving.

Ruth Kelly: ISAs form one part of the Governments approach to savings linking with policies such as the new Child Trust Fund, reductions in the tax on Capital Gains for business assets from 40 per cent. to 10 per cent. and radical simplification of pensions with a lifetime limit of £1.5m.
	A reduction from £7,000 to £5,000 a year may affect the allocation of savings between savings products for those currently investing more than £5,000 a year in an ISA. The overall effect on such savers behaviour is uncertain. We shall continue to keep the approach to savings policy under review.

Household Waste (Charges)

David Kidney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the fiscal implications of introducing variable charges for the collection of domestic household waste.

John Healey: The Strategy Unit report "Waste not, Want not" published in November 2002, recommended that local authorities that wish to take forward household incentive—including charging—schemes to help reduce waste volumes and increase recycling should be allowed to do so.
	In response, the Government undertook to carry out further work on household incentives before reaching a decision on whether to extend the powers of local authorities and introduce pilot schemes. This work—in consultation with the Local Government Association and local authority practitioners—looks in particular at the practicalities of operating any such schemes, the benefits they could deliver and how potential disadvantages might be overcome.

Inheritance Tax Act

Boris Johnson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much (a) gross and (b) net revenue has been raised to date by the repeal under the Finance Act 1998 of section 26 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984.

Dawn Primarolo: None. Section 26 was redundant following the removal of the monetary limit which originally applied to relief for charitable bequests under what is now s.23 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984. A gift or bequest which could previously have been relieved under s.26 can now enjoy relief either under s.23 or under s.25 (gifts for national purposes).

Iraq (Departmental Secondments)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the secondments of staff of the Treasury and its agencies to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq up to the transfer to the Iraqi Government; what their duties were in each case; and how many secondees continue to serve that government.

Ruth Kelly: Five Treasury officials were seconded to the Coalition Provisional Authority to support the formulation and execution of economic policy in Iraq. The Treasury officials mainly worked on budgetary issues, including preparation of the 2003 and 2004 Iraqi Budgets, execution of the budget, including payment of public sector salaries and pensions, and the new financial management law. They also worked on the Iraqi currency exchange.
	At present there are no Treasury secondees serving the Iraqi Government.

Landfill Tax

David Kidney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the implications of his Spending Review for the (a) speed and (b) quantum of future increases in the rate of landfill tax.

John Healey: The Chancellor makes decisions in the Spending Review based on a wide range of policy issues and considerations. The Government are committed to a waste management strategy which makes use of a range of policies, including spending, regulation and taxation. The standard rate of landfill tax is due to increase by £3/tonne next year and by at least £3/tonne in subsequent years on the way to a medium to long-term rate of £35/tonne. Any decisions about the rate of increases in the landfill tax will be made as part of the Budget process, taking account of all relevant policy measures and a range of social, environmental and economic factors.

National Insurance Number

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what uses of the national insurance number other than those connected with tax or benefits are authorised; whether he intends to make the national insurance number a general identifier under the Data Protection Act 1998; whether he seeks the views of the Information Commissioner when approving additional uses of the national insurance number; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions response of 14 April 2003 to your previous question. Additions to the list of authorised users of the national insurance number for non-tax or benefit purposes since that date will be placed in the Library.
	Responsibility for authorising use of the national insurance number is held jointly by Inland Revenue and the Department of Work and Pensions who liaise with the Information Commissioner on data protection issues. We have no plans to register the national insurance number as a general identifier under the Data Protection Act 1998.

Non-North Sea Corporation Tax Revenues

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assumptions about the level of employer contributions to self-administered pension schemes informed his forecasts for non-North Sea corporation tax revenues in (a) 2004–05, (b) 2005–06, (c) 2006–07, (d) 2007–08 and (e) 2008–09 as set out in Table C9 of the Budget 2004 Red Book.

Ruth Kelly: The level of pension contributions in the economic forecast underlying the Budget 2004 non-North Sea corporation tax forecasts is circumscribed by the assumption made about the factor income shares of GDP. The assumption used is that in the medium-term, when GDP grows at the underlying trend rate, the factor shares of GDP are broadly constant. This assumption was re-examined by the National Audit Office for Budget 2004, and their conclusion was that it remained a reasonable one.

Oil Exploration Expenditure Supplement

Alex Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will raise the oil exploration expenditure supplement;
	(2)  what action he plans to take in response to increasing oil prices.

John Healey: The Government's focus since 3 June has been on OPEC and oil producers and their responsibilities to meet their own targets on sustainable oil prices. With the next meeting of OPEC Ministers now moved from July to September, and in light of the continuing uncertainty in the oil market, the Government announced on 20 July that it had decided to review the planned increase in fuel duty at the Pre-Budget Report.
	The Chancellor of the Exchequer will report back on this issue at the time of the Pre-Budget report. Other taxes, including the oil exploration expenditure supplement, will be kept under review by the Chancellor as part of the normal Budget cycle.

Oil Exploration Expenditure Supplement

Alex Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes in revenues the Treasury expects as a result of rising oil prices.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Waveney on 21 June (Official Report, 1205W).

Older Workers

Tony Clarke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people aged over 65 years have been in work in Northampton, South in each year since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Tony Clarke, dated 8 September 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about employment. (186463)
	The attached table gives the available estimates of the number of people aged 65 and over in employment in the Northampton South Parliamentary Constituency for the twelve months ending February in 1997 and each year from 1999 to 2003. However, these estimates are subject to a higher degree of sampling and rounding error than usual, and for this reason the table also includes estimates for the East Midlands region.
	Estimates are taken from the Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to sampling variability.
	
		Estimated number of people aged 65 and over in employment, East Midlands region and Northampton South constituency, 12 months ending February of 1997 and of each year from 1999 to 2003 -- Thousand
		
			 Year(20) East Midlands Northampton, South(21) 
		
		
			 1997 29 1 
			 1999 29 1 
			 2000 29 0 
			 2001 33 2 
			 2002 29 1 
			 2003 33 2 
		
	
	(20) Data not available for 1998.
	(21) Estimates are based on small sample sizes and are subject to a higher than usual degree of sampling variability. They should therefore be treated with caution.
	Source:
	ONS Labour Force Survey.

PA Spiral Case

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to create a structure to remedy the position in the case of the Names who were victims of fraud in the PA Spiral case (Thomas LJ in Sphere Drake v EIU and SCB); and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: It is understood that this particular matter is still before the courts and the Government does not comment on matters that are before the courts. There are existing remedies which victims of fraud can seek to obtain through the courts.

Pensioners (Tax Payments)

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total amount of (a) income and (b) council tax paid by pensioners was in the latest year for which figures are available; and what the average payment was per pensioner who pays each tax.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Willets, dated 8 September 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions asking, for the latest year for which figures are available, for the total amount of (a) income tax and (b) council tax. paid by pensioners and the average tax per pensioner who paid each tax (187351), and how many pensioners paid each tax (187355).
	For estimates relating to income tax please see table 3.12 "Income and tax for individuals aged 65 and above, by region and country, 2001–02" on the Inland Revenue website: www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/income distribution/table-312–2001–02.pdf. The information in this table relates to individual taxpayers, not households, who are aged 65 and above. This table does not include female taxpaying pensioners aged between 60 and 65. It shows there were about 4.1 million pensioners taxpayers aged 65 or over in the UK in 2001–02, with income tax liability of £8.2 billion. This gives an average tax of about £2,000 per pensioner taxpayer (aged 65 or over).
	Estimates for council tax paid by pensioner households have been produced from the Office for National Statistics' analysis "The effects of taxes and benefits on household income" published on the National Statistics website on 6 May 2004 at: www.statistics.gov.uk/taxesbenefits
	The analysis includes measures of income inequality for households in the United Kingdom as a whole based on data from the Expenditure and Food Survey. This is a sample survey covering about 7,000 households in the UK and sample sizes for pensioner households are only sufficient to give very approximate estimates.
	Estimates for 2002–03 suggest that that single and couple pensioner households in GB paid about £3.6 billion in council tax net of benefits and discounts. The average council tax paid by the approximately five million pensioner households (single and couples) who paid council tax (i.e. their council tax was greater than zero) was about £700 per year. Council tax is not paid in Northern Ireland. Net council tax is defined as gross council tax less benefits and discounts, where a household reports taking up a council tax benefit entitlement.
	These estimates of numbers of pensioners and payments of council tax may not match population data or administrative payments data because of sample size and weighting issues, as well as possible inaccurate reporting by respondents.
	Pensioner households have been defined as those where the Household Reference Person is retired or unoccupied and aged 65 or more and male, or 60 years of age or more and female, and economically inactive.
	Detailed information on the definition of the Household Reference Person can be found in Appendix D of the document at the following address:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme social/Family Spending 2002–03/Family Spending 2002–03 revised.pdf

Pensions (Tax Relief)

Andrew Love: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimates he has made of the impact on public funds in tax relief of the introduction of the £1.4 million limit on pension savings; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimates he has made of the cost to public funds in tax relief of introducing a limit on pension savings of (a) £1.3 million, (b) £1 million, (c) £750,000, (d) £500,000 and (e) an amount reflecting a pension just above benefit levels; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: Available estimates of the Exchequer cost of the introduction of the new simplified tax regime for pensions are contained in paragraph 48 of "Simplifying the taxation of pensions regulatory impact assessment", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
	The £1.5 million lifetime allowance to be introduced from April 2006 broadly replicates the maximum fund an individual can accrue under the current occupational pension rules. The exchequer impact of introducing a lower allowance would depend upon uncertain changes in the pensions savings of individuals at or approaching the lower lifetime allowance and any consequent changes to other parts of the new regime resulting from a lower allowance. Due to the uncertainty of estimating the size and direction of these behavioural effects no estimates are available.

Population Register

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the savings to public funds arising from (a) the implementation of the population register database by the Registrar General, (b) the proposed introduction of an identity card by the Home Office and (c) the data-sharing proposals of the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

Ruth Kelly: The potential cost savings from the Citizen Information Project are being developed. No decision has yet been taken as to whether or not the population register should proceed to implementation but we could expect benefits to arise both in the form of efficiency savings and in improved public services.
	There have been discussions between the Treasury and the Home Office on the implications of Identity Cards dating back to before the publication of the consultation paper on entitlement cards and identity fraud. However, the introduction of Identity Cards is a long-term undertaking, and discussions will continue. HM Treasury will continue to be involved with ongoing analysis.
	The DCA Legal Guidance on Public Sector Data Sharing sets out the legal and regulatory framework governing data sharing. The Government are not able to estimate savings to public funds that may result from the better understanding of this framework which has followed the publication of the Guidance.

With-profits Fund Schemes

Andrew Love: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what plans (a) he and (b) the Financial Services Authority has for further regulation of with-profits fund schemes offered by insurance companies; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  when the consultation by the Financial Services Authority on Treating With-Profits Customers Fairly, CP 207, will conclude; when the results will be published; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what research has been undertaken into the impact on mutual insurers of the proposals contained in the consultation on Treating With-Profits Customers Fairly; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: Insurance regulation is the responsibility of the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
	The FSA published Consultation Paper (CP) 04/14 on 19 August 2004 which provides feedback on CP 207 and makes revised proposals for further consultation. The FSA will continue to consult widely about its proposals, including among the mutual insurance sector. CP 04/14 specifically addresses a number of points made by firms within the mutual insurance sector in response to the first consultation.
	The FSA will continue to monitor the impact on firms and consumers of existing and future changes to with-profits regulation.

Work Force Statistics

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate the Government have made of the percentage of people aged 50 to 65 who were (a) registered as unemployed and (b) economically inactive in (i) St. Helens and (ii) the UK, broken down by region, in each year since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Shaun Woodward, dated 8 September 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about unemployment and economic inactivity for people aged 50 to 65. (186940)
	The attached table gives estimates for the percentages of people aged 50 to 65 who are (a) unemployed and (b) economically inactive in the St. Helens Local Authority District and the UK by region for the three months ending in May of each year from 1997 to 2004.
	Estimates are taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to sampling variability. Estimates for UK regions and for St. Helens Local Authority District are based on small sample sizes and are subject to a high level of sampling variability. In particular, year- to-year changes are likely to show considerable volatility.
	
		Percentages of people aged 50 to 65 who are unemployed (22) or economically inactive(23)—UK regions, 1997–2004 (three-month periods ending in May) (24) -- percentage
		
			 Region 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Unemployed (22) 
			 North East 4 4 4 4 2 3 3 3 
			 North West 3 2 3 3 2 2 2 1 
			 in which St. Helens LAD 3 2 2 4 4 (25)— (25)— (25)— 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 
			 East Midlands 3 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 
			 West Midlands 3 3 3 3 2 3 2 2 
			 Eastern 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 
			 London 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 
			 South East 3 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 
			 South West 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 
			 Wales 2 3 3 2 1 2 2 2 
			 Scotland 4 3 3 4 3 3 2 2 
			 Northern Ireland 4 4 2 3 3 2 3 2 
			 United Kingdom 3.4 2.8 2.8 2.6 1.9 2.2 2.0 1.9 
			  
			 Economically inactive(23) 
			 North East 50 52 51 49 47 49 47 49 
			 North West 45 47 44 44 43 43 39 40 
			 in which St. Helens LAD 54 50 49 50 46 39 51 49 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 44 42 44 40 41 40 38 37 
			 East Midlands 38 38 39 36 37 36 35 36 
			 West Midlands 38 38 37 39 39 37 37 37 
			 Eastern 37 33 35 34 32 32 32 31 
			 London 38 40 38 38 37 37 37 36 
			 South East 34 32 31 32 32 31 31 30 
			 South West 35 35 34 36 36 35 35 33 
			 Wales 48 49 48 48 47 47 43 42 
			 Scotland 45 45 44 44 41 42 39 38 
			 Northern Ireland 48 50 48 48 49 46 43 45 
			 United Kingdom 40.4 40.2 39.6 39.3 38.5 37.9 36.6 36.3 
		
	
	(22) Unemployed as a per cent. of total population aged 50 to 65.
	(23) Economically inactive as a per cent. of total population aged 50 to 65.
	(24) Not seasonally adjusted
	(25) LFS sample included no cases on which an estimate could be based.
	Important Note:
	Estimates for UK regions and for St. Helens Local Authority District are based on small sample sizes and are subject to a high level of sampling variability. They should be treated with caution. In particular, year-to-year changes are likely to show considerable volatility, and should not be used is isolation from the estimates for a sequence of years.
	Source:
	ONS Labour Force Survey

DEFENCE

AAC Dishforth

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the security review at AAC Dishforth.

Adam Ingram: In March 2004, a security review was undertaken at AAC Dishforth. The final report has been produced and its recommendations are currently being considered, while we await the outcome of the Defence Airfield Review.

Armoured Battlegroup Support Vehicle Programme

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the decision to halt the Armoured Battlegroup Support Vehicle programme.

Adam Ingram: There has been no decision to halt the Armoured Battlegroup Support Vehicle (ABSV) programme. The project remains in its concept phase with all options under consideration.

Civil Service Relocation

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what non-uniformed staff are employed by (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies, broken down by (i) region and (ii) country; what relocations are pending; and what contribution he plans to make to the implementation of the Lyons Review.

Ivor Caplin: The total number of full-time equivalent MOD civilian staff by region and country as at 1 July 2004, including staff employed by agencies and trading funds, is shown as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 MOD total 108,990 
			 England 71,370 
			 London 6,420 
			 South East 17,110 
			 East 7,660 
			 South West 23,920 
			 West Midlands 6,430 
			 East Midlands 2,520 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 3,940 
			 North West 2,870 
			 North East 500 
			 Scotland 7,160 
			 Wales 4,170 
			 Northern Ireland 3,450 
			 Elsewhere(26) 22,840 
		
	
	(26) Comprised of MOD civilian staff located outside the UK and unallocated staff.
	The number of full-time equivalent MOD civilian staff in each agency and trading fund in England, broken down by Government office region as at July 1 2004, is shown as follows:
	
		
			  England London South East East South West West Midlands East Midlands Yorks and Humber North West North East 
		
		
			 AFPA 130 — 60 — 80 — — — — — 
			 ATRA 3,780 40 1,390 110 1,050 130 60 980 20 — 
			 BFPO 330 250 40 20 20 10 — — — — 
			 DASA 180 60 10 — 110 — — — — — 
			 DBA 590 — — — — — — — 590 — 
			 DCSA 2,920 280 440 510 1,610 60 — 10 10 — 
			 DDA 150 — 70 10 20 10 — 20 — — 
			 DE 2,020 70 470 370 370 530 60 130 10 10 
			 DGIA 790 560 70 160 — — — — — — 
			 DISC 150 — — 150 — — — — — — 
			 DMETA 600 90 440 10 10 40 — 10 — — 
			 DPA 3,570 20 100 70 3,160 40 10 10 150 20 
			 DSDA 3,330 — 1,190 40 440 1,340 10 40 270 — 
			 DTMA 280 — 150 — — 100 — — 20 — 
			 DVA 330 — — — — — — 330 — — 
			 DSA — — — — — — — — — — 
			 DYRMS 120 — 120 — — — — — — — 
			 MSA 260 — 30 — 220 — — — — — 
			 MDP 5,450 590 1,760 630 1,400 290 80 530 130 40 
			 NRTA 970 20 790 — 130 10 10 — 10 10 
			 PPA 790 — — — 440 — — — 350 — 
			 QVS — — — — — — — — — — 
			 TGDA 2,020 20 360 30 150 760 450 210 30 10 
			 SCE 20 — — — 10 — — — — — 
			 VA 730 — 20 — 20 — 10 10 670 — 
			 WSA 3,540 — 700 30 2,790 — — — 10 — 
			
			 ABRO 1,680 — — 100 620 840 — 110 — — 
			 DARA 860 — 860 — — — — — — — 
			 DSTL 3,010 690 1,100 — 980 220 10 — — — 
			 MET 1,620 10 260 40 1,150 30 60 30 40 — 
			 HYDRO 910 — — — 910 — — — — — 
		
	
	Full-time equivalent is a measure of the size of the work force that takes account of the fact that some people work part-time.
	Figures have been individually rounded to the nearest 10, so may not sum to the totals shown.
	The number of full-time equivalent MOD civilian staff in each agency and trading Fund broken down by country as at 1 July 2004 is shown as follows:
	
		
			  Total England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland Elsewhere 
		
		
			 AFPA 160 130 30 — — — 
			 ATRA 4,020 3,780 60 140 10 20 
			 BFPO 350 330 10 — — 10 
			 DASA 180 180 — — — — 
			 DBA 600 590 — — — 10 
			 DCSA 3,200 2,920 100 — — 170 
			 DDA 180 150 10 — — 10 
			 DE 2,510 2,020 230 30 20 220 
			 DGIA 800 790 — — — 20 
			 DISC 150 150 — — — — 
			 DMETA 610 600 — — — 10 
			 DPA 3,820 3,570 100 10 — 150 
			 DSDA 4,330 3,330 720 250 — 30 
			 DTMA 350 280 20 — — 60 
			 DVA 330 330 — — — — 
			 DSA 60 — — — — 50 
			 DYRMS 120 120 — — — — 
			 MSA 270 260 10 — — — 
			 MDP 6,920 5,450 1,290 140 — 40 
			 NRTA 1,010 970 20 10 20 10 
			 PPA 800 790 — — — 10 
			 QVS 70 — 70 — — — 
			 TGDA 2,250 2,020 50 170 — 10 
			 SCE 980 20 — — — 960 
			 VA 830 730 20 10 10 70 
			 WSA 4,800 3,540 900 190  180  
			 ABRO 1,780 1,680 100 — — — 
			 DARA 3,620 860 290 2,440 — 20 
			 DSTL 3,160 3,010 — — — 140 
			 MET 1,830 1,620 120 30 20 40 
			 HYDRO 910 910 — — — — 
		
	
	Key to tables:
	Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency
	Army Training and Recruitment Agency
	British Forces Post Office
	Defence Analytical Services Agency
	Defence Bills Agency
	Defence Communications Service Agency
	Defence Dental Agency
	Defence Estates
	Defence Geographical and Imagery Intelligence Agency
	Defence Intelligence and Security Centre
	Defence Medical and Training Agency
	Defence Procurement Agency
	Defence Storage and Distribution Agency
	Defence Transport and Movements Agency
	Defence Vetting Agency
	Disposal Services Agency
	Duke of York's Royal Military School
	Medical Supplies Agency
	Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency
	Naval Recruiting and Training Agency
	Pay and Personnel Agency
	Queen Victoria School
	RAF Training Group Defence Agency
	Service Children's Education
	Veterans Agency
	Warship Support Agency
	Army Base Repair Organisation
	Defence Aviation Repair Agency
	Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
	Meteorological Office
	UK Hydrographic Office
	The Ministry of Defence keeps the size and location of its bases under constant review. Building on initial work that has been done to identify the MOD's core sites, the Department is undertaking further work to examine where estate rationalisation may be possible. This work is consistent with the Department's contribution to the Government's Independent Review of Public Sector Rationalisation—the "Lyons Review".
	On 21 July we announced a number of specific reviews. These were: a review of the Defence Logistics Organisation's locations; a review of Defence Airfields; and a review of Royal Marines Basing, each of which may result in the relocation of civilian personnel. In addition, a number of relocations relating to the RAF's review of Air Combat Service Units and other minor units were announced.
	The MOD submitted a significant package of relocation proposals to the Lyons Review, which would result in around 3,900 service and civilian personnel relocating out of London and the South East by 2010.
	The proposals consist of the closure of Woolwich Station in Greenwich, the closure of the Army Technical Foundation College (ATFC) at Arborfield, relocation of the Disposal Services Agency (DSA) to the West Country, collocation of Defence Medical Services Training Centre (DMSTC) facilities and rationalisation of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratories (DSTL).

Defence Spending Review

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the implications of (a) the Defence Spending Review and (b) the proposals set out in his oral statement on future capabilities for defence on 21 July for (i) the Typhoon project and (ii) the Apache project; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence set out in his statement on 21 July 2004, Official Report, columns 343–70, Typhoon is an essential element of our plans to transform the armed forces for the 21st century. The aircraft is already demonstrating excellent performance in service and we intend to place the order for the second tranche as soon as negotiations on price and performance have been successfully completed.
	The entry to service of the Attack helicopter represents an essential step in the Army's transition towards an increasingly manoeuvrist approach to warfare, and is therefore fully in line with the proposals in the Defence White Paper published in July, "Delivering Security in a Changing World". The Attack Helicopter will significantly improve our ability to engage land targets with precision and at range.

Infantry

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many infantry were employed by the British Army, broken down by rank, excluding vacancies according to the latest available statistics; and what projections for numbers of infantry were made for the Defence Review.

Ivor Caplin: The trained Infantry Strengths as at 1 July 2004 are as follows:
	
		
			 Rank Trained 
		
		
			 Officers  
			 Lt Col 360 
			 Lt Col (Special List) 5 
			 Major 1,020 
			 Captain 1,025 
			 Lt 495 
			 2Lt 50 
			 Officer total 2,955 
			   
			 Other ranks  
			 WO1 150 
			 WO2 855 
			 SSGT 955 
			 SGT 1,825 
			 CPL 3,615 
			 LCPL 3,765 
			 PTE 11,615 
			 Soldier total 22,780 
			   
			 Infantry trained strength total 25,735 
		
	
	Note:
	Totals have been rounded to the nearest five.
	The manpower released from the reduction of four infantry battalions equates to approximately 2,500 posts, all of which will be reinvested back in to the Army. While a proportion of these will be reallocated back into the infantry itself to develop more robust and resilient establishments, others will be reinvested in the most heavily committed specialists such as logisticians, engineers, signallers and intelligence. Exact details in terms of the numbers allocated to each individual Arms and Service have yet to be fully worked through and finalised.

Missiles

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the effectiveness of ship borne surface-to-surface missiles.

Adam Ingram: The Harpoon anti-ship missile, fitted to Type 22 and Type 23 frigates, provides our current surface-to-surface ship borne missile capability. The Ministry of Defence regularly assesses the effectiveness of such weapons systems, through a combination of routine trials, research and analysis and as a normal part of our review of the equipment programme.
	In terms of potential future capabilities, the Department is currently conducting a balance of investment study into a range of possible land attack options. This includes consideration of the utility of ship borne surface-to-surface missiles on the Future Surface Combatant (FSC) and Type 45 Destroyers. The next stage of this study is expected to report this autumn.

Operation Majestic Eagle

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) ships and (b) personnel (i) were originally requested to take part and (ii) took part in Operation Majestic Eagle.

Adam Ingram: The United States request to take part in Exercise Majestic Eagle did not specify a particular level of involvement. Because Majestic Eagle took place during the terminal stages of the Royal Navy's extensive AURORA 04 programme of exercises with US forces, United Kingdom participation was limited to HMS Invincible, which took part via satellite link while returning from AURORA 04.

Operational Deployments

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the last three operational deployments and the length between each has been for (a) 1 Para, (b) 2 Para, (c) 3 Para and (d) 7th Armoured Brigade; and how many personnel have been medically downgraded in each.

Adam Ingram: Details of the last three operational deployments of each of the units, and the length between each of those deployments, are shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Unit Date Location Interval (months) 
		
		
			 1 PARA May and August 2000 (2 short deployments) Sierra Leone 9 
			  January to June 2001 Northern Ireland 4 
			  January to June 2003 Iraq 19 
			 2 PARA January to March 2002 Afghanistan 2 
			  September 2002 to March 2003 Northern Ireland 6 
			  December 2003 to April 2004 Iraq 8 
			 3 PARA January to June 2002 Northern Ireland 18 
			  January to June 2003 Iraq 7 
			  May 2004 to date Northern Ireland 11 
			 7 Armoured Brigade May to November 2000 Kosovo 31 
			  May to November 2001 Kosovo 6 
			  January to June 2003 Iraq 13 
		
	
	The details of those personnel classed as non-FE, as at 1 July 2004, are included as follows. Non-FE status signifies some form of temporary medical downgrading, although it should be noted that while an individual is considered to be medically downgraded, they may still be liable for deployment, depending on the reason for the downgrading, the nature and location of the deployment, and medical advice.
	
		
			 Unit Non-FE total Establishment total Percentage of establishment 
		
		
			 1 Para 45 687 7.3 
			 2 Para 20 687 2.9 
			 3 Para 50 687 7.2 
			 7 Armoured Brigade 415 6,575 6.3

Policies (Environmental Impact)

John Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many new policy proposals or significant changes in policy were produced in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04; how many of these were screened for their environmental impacts; and how many were the subject of separate environmental appraisals.

Ivor Caplin: The Ministry of Defence has produced the following new policy proposals and changes to policy in the periods 2002–03 and 2003–04:
	The Strategic Defence Review: A New Chapter (2002);
	Delivering Security in a Changing World (Defence White Paper, 2003); and
	Delivering Security in a Changing World: Future Capabilities (2004).
	These policies have not been screened for their environmental impacts or been subject to separate environmental appraisals.
	To address the requirements for policy level environmental appraisal the Department worked with Defra to trial the Integrated Policy Appraisal tool (IPA). The IPA tool has been integrated into Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) and the Department is now taking forward environmental policy appraisal work in this context in order to meet policy appraisal commitments.
	The MOD continues to carry out sustainability appraisal and more detailed environmental assessments as a result of the implementation of strategic policy decisions, for example, those arising from the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), published in July 2000. This work is supported by the Ministry of Defence's, Sustainability Appraisal Handbook (2003), which underpins the Department's commitment to the environmental aspects of sustainable development as expressed in the Secretary of State's Policy Statement, July 2000.

Rosyth Shipyard

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department plans to contribute to the costs of running the Rosyth Shipyard.

Adam Ingram: No, there are no plans for the Ministry of Defence to contribute to the costs of running Rosyth Dockyard. As with any company, Babcock Support Services Ltd., the owners of Rosyth Royal Dockyard, must recover their costs through their various income streams, in accordance with their contracts and with accounting conventions.

Wind Farms (West Somerset)

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what further consultations there have been on the positioning of wind farms near the helicopter base on the West Somerset coast.

Ivor Caplin: Consultations are in progress with the developer about the positioning of a wind farm near Hinkley Point Power Station. This has implications for the Klue Range at Kilve Bend.
	We are aware that our comments on the planning application need to be with West Somerset district council within 21 days of 17 August 2004.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Terrorist Threat

David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the present (a) Republican and (b) Loyalist terrorist threat in the Province.

Ian Pearson: Dissident republicans are a threat, although many of their activities have been thwarted, intercepted or nullified by the security forces. We remain concerned at the level of paramilitary activity and control exercised within communities by both Republican and Loyalist paramilitary organisations. The Independent Monitoring Commission will report again on this area next month.

Security Situation

Andrew MacKay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the security situation in the Province.

Ian Pearson: The security situation is relatively benign. While there was some regrettable violence at the Ardoyne the marching season has been largely peaceful and interface areas have also been fairly quiet.
	Dissident Republicans remain a threat and have been targeting members of the District Policing Partnerships and disrupting traffic by hoax devices, but their activities have for the most part been thwarted, intercepted or nullified by good policing operations.

Ministerial Accountability

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what mechanisms are in place to ensure the accountability of his Department's Ministers to electors in Northern Ireland.

Paul Murphy: We remain focused on our main aim of restoring devolved Government to Northern Ireland, on a stable and inclusive basis, with institutions accountable to local Ministers.

Higher Education

John Hume: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many full-time undergraduate university students normally domiciled in Northern Ireland will be at university in the academic year 2004–05; and how many full-time undergraduate university places are available in Northern Ireland.

Barry Gardiner: It is too early to say how many Northern Ireland domiciled students will take up full-time undergraduates places in 2004–05, the clearing process is not yet complete and data on student placements will not be available to the Department until late 2005. There are some 28,000 full-time undergraduate places planned for the university sector in Northern Ireland this year.

Decommissioning

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment has been made of the (a) value and (b) effectiveness of the decommissioning process.

Ian Pearson: In 1998 the Loyalist Volunteer Force carried out an act of decommissioning in Northern Ireland. The IRA have carried out three acts of decommissioning (2001, 2002 and 2003). In the latest act of decommissioning by the IRA (2003) the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning reported that the arms comprised light, medium and heavy ordnance and associated munitions. They included automatic weapons, ammunition, explosives and explosive material.
	These acts of decommissioning have put arms beyond use which otherwise could have been used in acts of terrorism. This is the start of a process that will ultimately result in all paramilitary weaponry being put beyond use and return Northern Ireland to a normal democratic society.

Advisers/Consultants

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on external consultants and advisers in each of the last three years.

Ian Pearson: The expenditure incurred by the Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies on external consultants and advisers in each of the last three years is as follows:
	
		Total Department, agencies and NDPBs
		
			  Total (£) 
		
		
			 2001–02 31,274,849 
			 2002–03 35,267,313 
			 2003–04 43,436,915

Antiville Estate, Larne

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he plans to take a decision on the proposal by the Board of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive to demolish properties in the Antiville Estate in Larne.

John Spellar: The Northern Ireland Housing Executive's proposals to demolish properties on the Antiville Estate were received by the Department for Social Development (DSD) on 30 July 2004. These are currently being considered in terms of their technical merit, value for money and their potential to achieve the regeneration objectives. I am aware that the proposals have generated a considerable amount of local concern and, in view of this, no decision will be taken until DSD has received assurances that local concerns have been addressed.

Careers Strategy

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made on the Careers Strategy following the recommendations contained in the Valuing Careers Strategy.

Ian Pearson: "Valuing Carers" was published in April 2002 and contained 19 recommendations for providing a range of support services to carers.
	An inter-departmental group, led by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, was tasked with taking forward the recommendations contained in "Valuing Carers", and their work has formed the basis of a draft Strategy for Carers. Departmental officials are currently drawing up the final draft of the Strategy, which will then be referred to the Under-Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for Basildon (Angela Smith), for consideration and approval.

Circuses

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what authority local councils in Northern Ireland have to ban animal based circuses from their property.

Angela Smith: The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 requires places where circuses (and other types of public entertainment) are to be held to have entertainments licences. The licences are granted by district councils and are subject to certain terms, conditions and restrictions that councils may specify. Councils do not have powers under the 1985 Order to refuse entertainments licences in respect of places where circuses are to be held simply because they involve animals. However, like all landowners, councils can decide whether circuses, or other types of public entertainment, may be held on their properties.

Civil Servants

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many recruitment exercises for Grade 5 civil servants have been undertaken in Northern Ireland in the last two years; who carried them out; and what the cost was in each case.

Ian Pearson: In 2002–03, 13 competitions were run to fill vacancies at Grade 5 level. 12 competitions were run in 2003–04. All were carried out by the Recruitment Service of the Department of Finance and Personnel.
	The total cost (including notional staff costs, advertising and travel and subsistence charges) for each competition is listed in the following tables.
	During 2003–04 a generic Grade 5 level competition was begun to fill vacancies across the NICS. This was carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP on behalf of DFP. In accordance with Part 2, paragraph 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information (Third party's commercial confidences), it would be inappropriate to disclose the cost of this competition.
	
		2002–03
		
			 Competition Department Total costs (£) 
		
		
			 Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer SC/10/02 DARD 15,809 
			 Director of Built Heritage SC/11/02 DOE 46,227 
			 Chief Executive DVTA SC/12/02 DOE 22,044 
			 Director of Secondary Care SC/14/02 DHSSPS 8,317 
			 Director of NI Bureau, Washington SC/2/03 OFMDFM 16,884 
			 Assistant Chief Inspector SC/3/02 DE 9,053 
			 Chief Executive and Registrar of Titles SC/4/02 DFP 14,471 
			 Public Expenditure Posts SC/4/03 DFP 18,777 
			 Assistant Crown Solicitor SC/5/03 NIO 11,284 
			 Deputy Director of Communications SC/6/02 OFMDFM 10,715 
			 Director of Professional Services SC/7/02 DOE 11,802 
			 Director of Development SC/8/02 DRD 26,254 
			 Director of Customer Services SC/9/02 DRD 27,531 
		
	
	
		2003–04
		
			 Competition Department Total costs (£) 
		
		
			 Head of Finance and EU Division SC/1/04 DETI/DARD 10,393 
			 Deputy Director, Construction and Advisory Division SC/10/03 DFP 9,543 
			 Chief Executive, BDS SC/11/03 DFP 13,653 
			 Director of Estates Development SC/13/03 DHSSPS 8,356 
			 Director of Business Development SC/16/03 SSA 8,488 
			 Director E-government SC/12/03 OFMDFM 21,390 
			 Head of Resource Allocation Division SC/17/03 DE 7,938 
			 Senior Economist SC/18/03 DFP/DETI 27,117 
			 Assistant Solicitor SC/8/03 DFP 8,735 
			 Deputy Director—Supplies and Services Division SC/9/03 DFP 7,933 
			 Head of Equal Opportunities and Appointments Division SC/3/04 DFP 23,104 
			 Director of Personnel, SSA SC/5/04 DSD 19,715

Civil Servants

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been appointed to a Grade 5 post in the Northern Ireland Civil Service in the past two years.

Ian Pearson: 23 appointments were made at Grade 5 level during 2002–03 and 11 appointments made during 2003–04.

Civil Service

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent action the Government have taken to resolve the Northern Ireland Civil Service dispute; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: Intensive negotiations took place in July between officials from the Department of Finance and Personnel and trade union representatives. At these meetings officials emphasised that the 3.67 per cent. pay deal for 2003 had now been paid and was final, but that they were willing to explore all reasonable means of resolving the dispute. The trade union also met with the Secretary of State on 23 July. On 3 August management tabled two offers to the trade union—a 12-month offer worth 3.49 per cent. and a 16-month offer worth 4.65 per cent. Both offers were quickly rejected and further negotiations took place on 4, 11 and 13 August. Following these further negotiations two final offers were made to the trade union on 16 August that took account of the trade unions views—the previous 12 month offer worth 3.49 per cent. and a revised 16-month offer worth 4.65 per cent. The revised offer included an increase in rates of pay of 2 per cent. plus a non-consolidated payment of £150 for all staff. These offers are now being considered by the trade union.
	Staff in the Northern Ireland Office are subject to separate pay negotiations involving NIPSA in respect of Northern Ireland Civil Servants and PCS and FDA in respect of Home Civil Servants. All three unions remain in dispute in relation to the 2003 pay award, although only NIPSA has taken industrial action. Exploratory discussions have now taken place between NIO officials and each of the unions regarding pay increases for 2004, and the unions will be invited into formal negotiations in relation to 2004 pay once the NIO's pay remit receives approval from the Treasury.

Civil Service

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will delay making appointments in recruitment competition SC/18/03 until the Northern Ireland Civil Service Commissioners have satisfied themselves as to the legality of the exclusion of Irish nationals from that competition.

Ian Pearson: No. Competition SC/18/03, which is now closed, resulted in the appointment of one Grade 6.

Consultation

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what costs were incurred during 2002–03 by each Northern Ireland Department, their agencies and non-departmental public bodies on consultation.

Ian Pearson: The costs incurred during 2002–03 by each Northern Ireland Department, their agencies and non-departmental public bodies on consultation (i.e. external consultancy) were as follows:
	
		Total departments, agencies and NDPBs—2002/03
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 Department of Agriculture and Rural Development 872,000 
			 Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure 1,996,149 
			 Department of Education 2,993,526 
			 Department of Employment and Learning 435,103 
			 Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment 3,866,000 
			 Department of Finance and Personnel 2,487,429 
			 Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety 1,198,754 
			 Department of the Environment 1,719,891 
			 Department of Regional Development 2,337,000 
			 Department of Social Development 12,619,000 
			 Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister 1,000,064 
			 Northern Ireland Office 3,742,397 
			 Total 35,267,313

Consultation

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what costs were incurred during 2002–03 by each Northern Ireland Department, their agencies and non-departmental public bodies on consultation whose contracts were awarded under single tender.

Ian Pearson: The following table shows the costs incurred during 2002–03 by the Northern Ireland Office, Northern Ireland Departments, their agencies and NDPBs on consultancy contracts awarded under single tender action.
	
		£
		
			 NI Departments Department Agencies NDPBs Total 
		
		
			 Northern Ireland Office 519,967 178,350 1,859,707 2,558,024 
			 Department of Agriculture and Rural Development 62,182 0 20,782 82,964 
			 Department of the Environment 18,564 200,384 0 218,948 
			 Department of Social Development 37,685 0 0 37,685 
			 Department of Regional Development 104,165 67,295 0 171,460 
			 Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister 106,694 0 0 106,694 
			 Department of Employment and Learning 0 0 0 0 
			 Department of Education 800,438 0 0 800,438 
			 Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety 238,812 15,057 13,102 266,971 
			 Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment 104,434 0 348,723 453,157 
			 Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure 79,432 744 159,962 240,138 
			 Department of Finance and Personnel 467,340 298,237 0 765,577 
			 Total 2,539,713 760,067 2,402,276 5,702,056

Consultation

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what consultancy companies have been awarded contracts of over £10,000 by each Northern Ireland Department, their agencies and non-departmental public bodies, under single tender arrangements in 2002–03; and what the associated payments made to each of them were.

Ian Pearson: The following table shows by Department, the consultants that were awarded contracts valued in excess of £10,000 under single tender action in 2002–03.
	As disclosure of individual contract values would breach conditions of contract the table shows the total value of contracts awarded by Departments including their agencies and NDPBs.
	
		£
		
			  Department 
			 Consultant DHSSPS DFP DCAL DETI 
		
		
			 Deloitte and Touche — — Yes Yes 
			 Drivers Jonas — — Yes — 
			 Elite Training Yes — — — 
			 ES Consultancy Yes — — — 
			 Farrell Grant Sparks — — Yes — 
			 Gartner Group — — — Yes 
			 IT Force — — Yes — 
			 Kearney Communications— — — Yes 
			 KPMG Yes — — — 
			 McCready and Donnelly Yes — — — 
			 Milward Brown — — — Yes 
			 MSA Ferndale Yes — — — 
			 Nicholson Graham and  Jones Yes — — — 
			 NIERC — — — Yes 
			 PA Consulting — Yes — — 
			 Partnership UK/OGC — Yes — — 
			 PricewaterhouseCoopers — — — Yes 
			 Queens University Yes — — — 
			 Richard H. Mackenzie — — Yes — 
			 University of Ulster Yes — — — 
			 Total value of contracts 244,926 69,888 187,664 345,938 
		
	
	
		£
		
			  Department 
			 Consultant DRD OFMDFM DEL DE 
		
		
			 BIC Systems — Yes — — 
			 MWM Associates Yes — — — 
			 Navigator Blue — Yes — — 
			 NICE — Yes — — 
			 ORC International Yes — — — 
			 University of Ulster Yes — — — 
			 Venture International — Yes — — 
			 Total value of contracts 58,046 159,024 — — 
		
	
	
		£
		
			  Department 
			 Consultant NIO DARD DOE DSD 
		
		
			 Anderson Spratt Yes — — — 
			 Arcominteractive Yes — — — 
			 ASE Consulting — — — Yes 
			 BDO Hayward Yes — — — 
			 Cap Gemini Ernst and Young Yes — — — 
			 Capita Business Services Yes — — — 
			 Deloitte and Touche Yes Yes — Yes 
			 Environmental Resource Management — — Yes — 
			 Helm Corporation Yes — — — 
			 ICS Computing Yes — — — 
			 Lead Project Management Yes — — — 
			 OMI Consulting — Yes — — 
			 PA Consulting Yes — Yes — 
			 Partnership UK/OGC Yes Yes — — 
			 PricewaterhouseCoopers Yes — Yes — 
			 Qi Consulting — — — Yes 
			 Queens University Yes — — — 
			 Stairway Transformation Yes — — — 
			 Sysco Yes — — — 
			 Total value of contracts 2,535,738 51,168 183,826 178,385 
		
	
	Key:
	DHSSPS—Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
	DFP—Department of Finance and Personnel
	DCAL—Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure
	DETI—Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment
	DRD—Department of Regional Development
	OFMDFM—Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister
	DEL—Department of Employment and Learning
	DE—Department of Education
	NIO—Northern Ireland Office
	DARD—Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
	DOE—Department of the Environment
	DSD—Department of Social Development

Cosmetic Surgery

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether practitioners performing cosmetic procedures in the Province outside the NHS have to be registered; and how such practitioners are regulated.

Angela Smith: Doctors must be registered with the General Medical Council to practise medicine in the UK, regardless of the area in which they work. Similarly nurses and allied health professionals must be registered with the statutory regulatory body for their professions, i.e. the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Health Professions Council respectively. Those bodies are responsible for the registration and regulation of their professions.

Creative Writing

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what conditions of (a) copyright and (b) royalty payments are attached to grant aid awarded by the (i) Arts Council of Northern Ireland, (ii) Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, (iii) Ultach Trust and (iv) Foras na Gaeilge for the publication of creative writing in the Irish language in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The Arts Council of Northern Ireland does not attach conditions relating to (a) copyright or (b) royalty payments to any award. The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure's funds in support of the arts in Northern Ireland are disbursed chiefly through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the Department has not made any funding directly available for the publication of creative writing in the Irish language.
	The Ultach Trust is a registered charitable trust. It is not directly funded by Northern Ireland Departments and it therefore would not be appropriate to disclose details of its expenditure. Foras na Gaeilge does not provide grant aid for the publication of creative writing in the Irish language in Northern Ireland.

Cycle Paths

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much public funding has been made available for the provision of cycle paths in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years; and how many miles of cycle paths have been provided in each of the past five years.

John Spellar: The Chief Executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Member in response to this question.
	Letter from Dr. Malcolm McKibbin to Mr. Gregory Campbell
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question about how much public money has been made available for the provision of cycle paths in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; and how many miles of cycle paths have been provided in each of the last five years. I have been asked to reply as part of the issue raised falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service.
	I can advise that in Northern Ireland the expenditure by Roads Service on the provision of cycle paths and the miles of cycle paths provided over this period is as follows:
	
		
			 Year Expenditure £000 Miles 
		
		
			 1999–00 1,732 20 
			 2000–01 2,402 20 
			 2001–02 1,748 20 
			 2002–03 844 16 
			 2003–04 818 19 
			 2004–05(27) 820(27) 14(27) 
		
	
	(27) Budget and target for the current financial year
	It should also be noted that other providers such as Sustrans, the Tourist Board, DARD, District Council, Sports Council for Northern Ireland, and some private developers also contribute very significantly to the mileage of cycle paths in Northern Ireland. As Roads Service does not hold the figures on cycle paths provided by these organisations I have asked my officials to write to them to request that the necessary information is sent directly to you.

Department of Health Assessment Framework

Debra Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on when the Department of Health, Social Services, and Public Safety will be implementing the Department of Health Assessment Framework in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The Department of Health's performance assessment framework applies only to the NHS in England. Northern Ireland has its own system of integrated health and social care—the HPSS (Health and Personal Social Services). Under current arrangements, key service development priorities are set annually for the HPSS. Progress towards their achievement is formally managed and monitored by the Department, and work is now in hand to further develop the approach to HPSS performance assessment and reporting. While basing itself on the integrated nature of services in Northern Ireland, that work has been informed by the various performance assessment models that operate elsewhere in the UK.

Departmental Age Policy

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether (a) his Department and (b) agencies for which it is responsible (i) have a set retirement age which applies to all or most personnel and (ii) have a maximum age beyond which applications for employment will not be considered; and what the age is in each case.

Ian Pearson: The compulsory age of retirement for all staff employed in the Northern Ireland Civil Service was raised to age 65 with effect from 4 October 2002. Staff who reach age 60 after that date have the option of remaining in post beyond age 60 and up to a maximum of 65.
	An application for employment from any candidate who has not reached age 65 is considered valid.

Designated Accommodation

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many rooms are set aside for (a) the use of smokers, (b) worship, broken down by religion and (c) nursing mothers and pregnant women in each building and set of offices for which his Department is responsible.

Ian Pearson: The Northern Ireland Civil Service currently maintains 158 smoking rooms within the general office estate, but this will be discontinued from 1 January 2005. There are no rooms set aside for worship or for nursing mothers and pregnant women.

Digital Hearing Aids

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many individuals are awaiting digital hearing aids in the Province; and what the (a) average and (b) longest current waiting time is.

Angela Smith: The information requested is not available.

Disability Grant Fund

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the abolition of the Disability Grant Fund means test in Northern Ireland has resulted in a change in the length of waiting lists.

John Spellar: With effect from 16 February 2004 we have exempted parents with disabled children from the means test that applies to Disabled Facilities Grant. While it is too early for a formal assessment of the saving in processing times in these cases, initial indications are that there will be no measurable impact on the waiting list for Disabled Facilities Grant.

Educational Attainment

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many pupils who achieved each grade in the 11-plus examination were from (a) integrated and (b) other primary schools in the Province in each of the last five years.

Barry Gardiner: The information requested is as follows:
	
		(a) Integrated primary schools
		
			  Number achieving each grade in the transfer procedure 
			  A B1 B2 C1 C2 D Total number sitting 
		
		
			 1999–2000 173 34 37 31 27 88 390 
			 2000–01 170 39 27 28 34 74 372 
			 2001–02 166 38 35 40 34 115 428 
			 2002–03 158 38 38 39 37 94 404 
			 2003–04 196 41 47 37 33 108 462 
		
	
	
		(b) Other primary schools
		
			  Number achieving each grade in the transfer procedure 
			  A B1 B2 C1 C2 D Total number sitting 
		
		
			 1999–2000 6,447 1,381 1,296 1,424 1,304 5,343 17,195 
			 2000–01 6,238 1,276 1,276 1,426 1,427 5,023 16,666 
			 2001–02 6,329 1,359 1,271 1,363 1,371 4,678 16,371 
			 2002–03 6,195 1,284 1,439 1,285 1,301 4,598 16,102 
			 2003–04 5,968 1,405 1,300 1,219 1,197 4,140 15,229

Fisheries Conservancy Board Vessel

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what training was provided to the operators of the Fisheries Conservancy Board vessel prior to the incidents that resulted in the current damage.

Angela Smith: Three members of the Fisheries Conservancy Board's staff have received training to the following standards:
	Royal Yachting Association/Maritime and Coastguard Agency Powerboat Advanced Certificate with commercial endorsement;
	Maritime Radio Operator Certificate of Competence (Short Range Certificate);
	Royal Yachting Association First Aid Course; and
	Certificate of Proficiency in Personal Survival Techniques on Board Ship.

Gransha Road, Dundonald

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the position is in relation to the payment of compensation for motorists involved in the Gransha Road, Dundonald, road surfacing problems of two years ago; and when payments will be made to those whose vehicles were damaged.

John Spellar: On 25 July 2002 routine surface dressing work was carried out on behalf of the Department at Gransha Road by its measured term contractor, Tullyraine Quarries Limited.
	On 29 July 2002 reports were received about the failure of the surface dressing and of a substantial number of vehicle damage claims caused by this failure.
	The failure was investigated by the Department and these investigations led to the Department referring all the Gransha Road vehicle damage claims, approximately 400, to the contractor, Tullyraine Quarries Limited, in accordance with proper legal and audit practice and procedure.
	The Department maintains its position that legal responsibility for the claims lie with its contractor, Tullyraine Quarries Limited. The contractor has not to date conceded responsibility and the claims remain outstanding.
	One of the motorists, who sustained vehicle damage on 29 July 2002, issued legal proceedings on 22 July 2003 against the Department, Tullyraine Quarries Limited and Lagan Bitumen Limited. Those proceedings in the County Court were however removed to the High Court on 30 January 2004. That ongoing court action is proceeding as a test case.
	The Department cannot comment any further as the legal issues are now subjudice.

Health Promotion

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent on the (a) promotion of health and (b) prevention of illness in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Smith: Work to promote health and prevent illness is carried out by Health and Social Services Trusts and also by other organisations such as the Health Promotion Agency, voluntary organisations and general practice. Table 1 shows Trust total expenditure for health promotion and prevention of disease, and Table 2 indicates the budget for other services. These figures are not available separately for health promotion and disease prevention and are provided from the earliest available dates.
	
		Table 1: Trust expenditure on health promotion and disease prevention services in Northern Ireland
		
			 Year ended March £ million 
		
		
			 1996 22.5 
			 1997 24.6 
			 1998 23.7 
			 1999 25.0 
			 2000 25.6 
			 2001 27.7 
			 2002 28.6 
			 2003 33.2 
		
	
	
		Table 2: Budget for other health promotion and disease prevention services in Northern Ireland
		
			 Year ended March £ million 
		
		
			 2000 3 0 
			 2001 7 3 
			 2002 13 3 
			 2003 18.0 
			 2004 21 8 
		
	
	Note
	The funding for other services includes funds for the implementation of the Drugs and Alcohol Strategy, an element of which may also be included within Trust expenditure.

HIV/AIDS

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many newly diagnosed cases of HIV there have been in the province since 1 January.

Angela Smith: Provisional figures indicate there were 20 new HIV cases in Northern Ireland between 1 January and 30 June 2004.

Mental Health

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on progress in implementing the Mental Health Strategy Action Plan;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on progress towards reducing the proportion of individuals susceptible to psychiatric disorders;

Angela Smith: The Promoting Mental Health Strategy and Action Plan was issued in January 2003. An Implementation Group has been established to oversee implementation of the Strategy. A range of preventative measures are being taken under the strategy including raising awareness and understanding of mental health issues, promoting coping skills, suicide awareness and outreach work with young people in areas of need. Action towards achieving the target to reduce the proportion of people with a potential psychiatric disorder is ongoing and progress will be measured through Health and Well-being Surveys.

Motorsport

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding has been made available for the development of motorsports in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years.

Angela Smith: The total amount of public funding i.e. exchequer and lottery, made available for the development of motorsports in Northern Ireland in each of the past five years by the Sports Council for Northern Ireland is as follows:
	
		Public funds(28)
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1999–2000 87,400 
			 2000–01 66,461 
			 2001–02 56,600 
			 2002–03 144,924 
			 2003–04 44,685 
			 Total 400,070 
		
	
	(28) Includes Sports Council exchequer, Sports Council lottery.
	
		Sports Council for Northern Ireland exchequer funding allocated to the 2 and 4 Wheel Motorsport Steering Group
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1999–2000 0 
			 2000–01 0 
			 2001–02 0 
			 2002–03 15,000 
			 2003–04 200,000 
			 Total 215,000 
		
	
	In addition to this, both the Northern Ireland Events Company and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board have provided funding in each of the past five years, which has been used to assist with its development. The amounts made available are as follows:
	
		Public funds allocated by the Northern Ireland Events Company
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1999–2000 0 
			 2000–01 0 
			 2001–02 75,000 
			 2002–03 104,679 
			 2003–04 374,500 
			 Total 554,179

MRI Scanners

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment has been made of the implications of using mobile scanning facilities to increase the number of MRI scans conducted in the Province.

Angela Smith: Mobile scanners have been used by some HSS Trusts as a temporary measure to enhance provision while new MRI scanners, funded by the New Opportunities Fund at a cost of £6.4 million, are installed at the Ulster, Antrim, Craigavon and Belfast City Hospitals. Using mobile scanners has been found to be an effective way to alleviate waiting times for patients alongside the introduction of additional evening scanning sessions at some hospital sites.

MRSA

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether a voluntary reporting system by hospitals in Northern Ireland of MRSA cases is in place.

Angela Smith: In April 2002 the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety made it a mandatory requirement for acute Trusts to report MRSA bacteraemia rates. The data is collected, collated and analysed by the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, Northern Ireland (CDSC) and statistical reports for the first two years of operation are available from its website www.cdscni.org. A copy of this report has been placed in the House Library.

MRSA

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether hospitals in Northern Ireland are required to destroy bed linen of MRSA sufferers after use; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Smith: The UK-wide MRSA Control Guidelines for hospitals do not require bed linen to be destroyed. It should be bagged according to the hospital laundry policy and machine washed on a hot wash setting.

National Institute for Clinical Excellence

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions have been held with representatives of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence regarding implementing NICE guidelines in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: Guidelines produced by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) are only applicable to England and Wales. In line with a range of initiatives designed to improve the quality of health and social care services in Northern Ireland, I am at present considering how guidelines issued by NICE can best be used in the context of Northern Ireland's health and social services. Departmental officials have undertaken discussions with NICE in that regard.

Parades Commission

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many members of the Parades Commission were on duty on (a) 12 and (b) 13 July.

Ian Pearson: All of the Parades Commissioners were available on 12 and 13 July 2004. In addition senior members of the Secretariat, authorised officers and monitors were deployed at a number of parades across Northern Ireland.

Physiotherapists

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many whole-time equivalent physiotherapists are working within the NHS in the Province.

Angela Smith: Physiotherapists as at 30 June 2004 are as follows:
	
		Physiotherapists as at 30 June 2004 (29)
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Headcount 790 
			 Whole-time equivalent 653.63 
		
	
	(29) Bank staff who cover for staffing shortfalls and fluctuating workloads in order to maintain service delivery are not included in these figures.

Physiotherapists

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the number of physiotherapists required in the Province over the next five years.

Angela Smith: A review of the physiotherapy workforce in May 2002 estimated that a 4 per cent. growth in the workforce, equivalent to 27 posts, would be required for service developments that have been agreed or are likely to be approved over the course of five years. In January 2004 an update of the original report indicated that the demand issues remained as identified. The position is being kept under review.

Plastic Baton Rounds

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in establishing an alternative to the plastic baton round for use in quelling civil disturbances in Northern Ireland.

Ian Pearson: The report of the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland recommended that "an immediate and substantial investment should be made in a research programme to find an acceptable, effective and less potentially lethal alternative to the Plastic Baton Round".
	In response, a Northern Ireland Office led steering group was set up. The fourth report of the steering group, published on 29 January this year, concluded that there was no commercially available product that met these criteria and that the focus should be on the development of two distinct new projectiles: the Attenuating Energy Projectile (AEP) and the Discriminating Irritant Projectile (DIP). Detailed research has concluded that both of these rounds represent a less potentially lethal alternative.
	The Government remains committed to developing an effective, less potentially lethal alternative and, as announced, it is hoped that the AEP will be ready for operational deployment before summer 2005. The Government are also committed to equipping the PSNI with a broader range of public order equipment that might reduce the need to resort to the use of this new projectile.
	The ACPO guidance on the use of baton rounds published on 8 December 2003 makes clear that baton rounds should only be used in a public order situation where other policing methods to restore or sustain public order have failed or must be unlikely to succeed, and where the use of the round is judged necessary to reduce a serious risk of loss of life or serious injury. It also states that baton rounds are designed to provide a less lethal option in dealing with threats of serious violence and provide an effective means by which individuals armed with petrol bombs or other weapons can be kept at a distance, contained or dispersed.

Racism

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have moved house under the Special Purchase of Evacuated Dwellings Scheme in Northern Ireland where their move was due to racist intimidation in each year since 1997.

John Spellar: The information requested is not readily available. However I will write to the hon. Gentleman when the figures have been compiled.

Racism

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have been allocated emergency homeless status by the Housing Executive in Northern Ireland because of racist intimidation in each year since 1997.

John Spellar: The information requested is not available prior to the 2001–02 year as the Housing Executive only began recording ethnic information from that time. For the last four financial years the information, including Irish Travellers, is as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2001–02 3 
			 2002–03 14 
			 2003–04 14 
			 2004–05 (To 24 August 2004) 5

Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on staffing levels in the genito-urinary medicine department at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast.

Angela Smith: In recognition of the future need in genito-urinary medicine specialist registrars have been recruited in each of the last three years.
	A report on "Sexually Transmitted Infections and Genito-urinary Medicine Services", produced by a sub-group of the Regional Advisory Committee on Communicable Disease Control, recommended a complement of five consultants against the current complement of 3.2 whole-time equivalent. The number presently in training stands at four, which is considered sufficient to meet that projected need.

School Fruit

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2004, Official Report, column 1161W, on school fruit, whether the fresh fruit in schools scheme will be extended.

Angela Smith: The Department has secured funding to enable this pilot scheme to continue in 2004–05, and for the scheme to be extended within the Health Action Zone areas to enable some new ideas to be tested this year. A final evaluation of the pilot scheme will take place in 2004–05. The outcome of this, together with work being taken forward by Fit Futures, the Taskforce on Obesity in Children and Young People and the development of a new Food and Nutrition Strategy, will help inform future decisions about the scheme.

School Fruit

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children in the Province received free fruit at school in 2003–04.

Angela Smith: A pilot Fresh Fruit in Schools Scheme was launched in Northern Ireland in October 2002. In the academic year September 2003 to June 2004 it provided a free piece of fruit daily to 5,239 primary 1 and 2 children in 87 primary schools within Health Action Zone areas.

Secondary Education

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the level of support in the Province for academic selection in post-primary education.

Barry Gardiner: The responses to the consultation on the recommendations of the Burns Report showed a diversity of views on the issue of academic selection. Of the 16 per cent. of the population who responded to the household response forms, 64 per cent. were opposed to the abolition of academic selection, as were 37 per cent. of the schools that responded, the Governing Bodies Association, the Institute of Directors, Ulster Unionist Party and Democratic Unionist Party and the Secondary Heads Association. Those in favour of abolishing academic selection included 36 per cent. of the respondents to the household response forms, 73% of the schools that responded, the five education and library boards, the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools, the Social Democratic and Labour Party, Sinn Fein, the Progressive Unionist Party, the Women's Coalition, the Workers Party, the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the five main teachers' unions. There was conditional support for ending academic selection from the Northern Catholic Bishops, the Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment, the Confederation of British Industry, and the Catholic Heads Association.
	The Costello Working Group took account of all the consultation responses and the Government have accepted that Group's recommendations that it is educationally unsound to select pupils and commit them to particular pathways at age 11 and also unsound to believe that the more able should follow only academic courses.
	Full details of the responses to the consultation are available on the Department of Education website: http://www.deni.gov.uk/pprb/response to consultation.htm

Smoking

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the number of people who have stopped smoking in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: Information on the number of people who have stopped smoking is not available for each of the last five years. However, an indication on the number of people who have stopped smoking in Northern Ireland is available from the Continuous Household Survey (CHS), which biennially includes questions about smoking. Estimates of the number of people who have stopped smoking in Northern Ireland are as follows:
	
		
			  Estimate of number of people (aged 16+) who stopped smoking 
		
		
			 1996–97 16,500 
			 1998–99 22,000 
			 2000–01 24,000 
			 2002–03 25,000 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The figures have been calculated using the percentage of respondents to the survey who stated that they had stopped smoking in the previous year. These percentages have been applied to the mid-year estimate population numbers to produce an estimated figure for the number of people in Northern Ireland who stopped smoking in the previous year.
	2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 500.
	Source:
	Continuous Household Survey.

Spending Review

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the impact on civil service jobs in Northern Ireland of the Chancellor's statement on the 2004 Spending Review.

Ian Pearson: I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave the hon. Member for North Down on 20 July 2004, Official Report, columns 196–97W.

Sports Funding

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much Government funding has been allocated in Northern Ireland in each financial year since 2000 to (a) rugby, (b) hockey, (c) cricket and (d) Gaelic games.

Angela Smith: The following table provides details of Exchequer funding and Peace II funding provided by DCAL, DARD, DETI and DFP to rugby, hockey, cricket and Gaelic games for each financial year from 2000.
	
		£
		
			  2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 (a) Rugby(30) 152,843 157,551 92,536 127,723 
			 (b) Hockey 27,464 61,225 54,902 43,036 
			 (c) Cricket 20,000 22,000 26,330 59,179 
			 (d) Gaelic games1,2 652,085 381,333 557,676 134,793 
			 (e) Numerous sports(32) — — — 58,434 
		
	
	(30) The figures shown for rugby and Gaelic games include funding allocated via the Safe Sports Ground Programme.
	(31) Gaelic games includes Gaelic football, hurling and other Gaelic Athletic Association Games.
	(32) DFP has also provided Peace II funding to projects including more than one of the listed sports and these are listed separately in the last row under "numerous sports".

Travel Costs

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the travel costs were of civil servants in (a) his Department and (b) its related agencies in each year since 1997.

Ian Pearson: One Northern Ireland Department is unable to provide information prior to 2000–01 as the information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The available figures show travel costs for (a) Northern Ireland Departments and the Northern Ireland Office and (b) for related agencies for each year since 1997 as:
	
		£
		
			  Department Agencies Total 
		
		
			 1997–98(33) 6,993,705 8,737,673 15,731,378 
			 1998–99(33) 7,426,431 8,814,552 16,240,983 
			 1999–2000(33) 7,819,038 8,950,484 16,769,522 
			 2000–01 10,535,869 9,769,393 20,305,262 
			 2001–02 10,148,870 9,584,372 19,733,242 
			 2002–03 10,130,032 10,288,270 20,418,302 
			 2003–04 10,484,387 10,659,851 21,144,238 
		
	
	(33) Excludes Department of Finance and Personnel.
	Please note that the accounting system changes from a cash to resource basis in 2000–01.

Young People (Special Needs)

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans there are to improve (a) respite and (b) social activity provision for young people with special needs in (i) Larne, Carrick, Newtownabbey and Ballyclare and (ii) the rest of the Northern Board area.

Angela Smith: Homefirst Trust has established a team to manage the transition of young people to adult services using a community development approach to day care support services, which also includes social activities. Supported employment services for school leavers have been developed in Ballymoney, Antrim, Ballymena and Cookstown.
	Funding has been secured from the Big Lottery to appoint a Project Worker to develop mainstream social activities for children and young people with disabilities in leisure centres in Larne, Carrickfergus, Newtownabbey and Ballyclare. An evaluation of this project will inform future planning priorities.
	The Board is in the process of developing a family support strategy, which includes children with disabilities and their families. A wide-ranging consultation with parents, children and service providers has been completed. The strategy will identify gaps and shortfalls in services and will inform future planning priorities.